News & Events

Respiratory Outbreak Advisory

DATE: November 7, 2022

TO: Infection Control Practitioner, Director of Care and/or Nursing, Medical Director, Administrator

FROM: Health Protection Team

RE: Respiratory Outbreak Advisory

This is to notify you that a respiratory outbreak has been declared at St. Joseph’s Hospice in Sarnia, ON. The causative agent has been laboratory confirmed as COVID-19.


• Staff who are high risk contacts should speak to their employer to report their exposure and follow their workplace guidance to return to work. Generally, staff can continue to work but should monitor for symptoms and isolate immediately if symptomatic.


• Best practice is for staff who have worked in an outbreak setting in another facility (e.g., acute care, another LTCH or a RH) should not work in other facilities for the duration of the outbreak, regardless of their COVID-19 vaccination status. This is to limit the risk of COVID-19 transmission across homes/facilities. Where this is not possible, staff should be assigned to also work in an outbreak area at the second location, be actively screened every day, and be rapid antigen tested every day


• Staff who are positive COVID19 cases should avoid the workplace for 10 days from symptom onset or test collection date, whichever was first (safest approach)


• Staff who are positive COVID19 cases of COVID19 cases can return to work early if the home is experiencing a critical staffing shortage:


*Return to work early is not the safest approach, and should only be implemented in critical staffing shortages.


If your facility has any questions or concerns, please contact Lambton Public Health at 519-383-8331 or toll free at 1-800-667-1839.

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