Ontario’s chief medical officer is urging regional public health units to take a more “aggressive” approach to manage and trace individuals who have been in contact with COVID-19 cases.
Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit’s (SMDHU) medical officer of health, Dr. Charles Gardner, said that approach may not be necessary in the region.
In a memo to medical officers of health across the province, Dr. David Williams, chief medical officer of health, said public health agencies need to do more “given the ongoing and increasing incidence of community transmission across the province.”
Williams urged health units to implement more aggressive contact tracing and management, using their authority under the Health Protection and Promotion Act to ensure isolation of COVID-19 cases and their contacts.
“We need to look at [the provincial memo] and carefully consider what it means, how we would interpret it, and then look at what we’re doing and how that needs to change,” Gardner said during a media briefing today.
He said the memo was sent out this morning.
In Toronto, the medical officer of health said the city’s public health agency is looking at issuing orders in self-isolation cases.
“We need to look at whether that’s necessary,” said Gardner. “Our experience has been that we’ve found a high degree of compliance among all of the cases and their contacts, so we’d have to ask ourselves whether or not there’s added value or need to issue orders.”
The health unit gets reports of all positive COVID-19 cases in Simcoe County and Muskoka, and conducts an investigation that includes tracing all of the patients' close contacts for up to 24 hours prior to the onset of symptoms.
Those close contacts are often asked to self-isolate and monitor for symptoms. They may or may not be tested for the virus.
“Usually we reserve orders for instances where people are not complying,” said Gardner.
He said he wanted to carefully consider the memo further before deciding what it may mean for SMDHU and what else the health unit should be doing when it comes to tracing and managing contacts and self-isolation cases.
Gardner has noted there is evidence of community transmission of the virus in the region, and has cautioned all residents to practise physical distancing and behave as though you and others around you are infected and could transmit COVID-19.
There have been four COVID-19 deaths in the region - including two in Orillia. Elizabeth Fox, 78, and her husband, Lyle Fox, 82, died days apart after Elizabeth contracted the deadly virus. Neither had travelled or had contact with anyone that travelled.
