Vaccinated care home residents confined to rooms after workers test positive

A vaccinated resident at an Ottawa long-term care facility needs to know why he and everybody else dwelling on the residence have to stay of their rooms after employees members examined optimistic for COVID-19.

Bob Nye at the moment lives on the Extendicare Medex residence on Baseline Highway, the place all 141 residents have been totally vaccinated since December.

However after two employees members lately examined optimistic for the virus, the residents are actually isolating of their rooms.

For Nye, which means no going exterior, no walks across the constructing, no leaving his room — which he describes as small — for as much as two weeks.

Nye has a laptop computer in his room that permits him to attach with family members, however mentioned many residents do not, and that they are being “handled like prisoners.”

‘These are primary human rights’

It isn’t the primary time this has occurred on the residence. Nye mentioned there have been a number of outbreaks for the reason that begin of the COVID-19 pandemic, and each time it is meant having to remain in his room for a minimum of two weeks.

“I deal with it usually, however I am upset,” Nye advised CBC on Wednesday.

Lisa Nye, left, poses together with her father, Bob, on the Extendicare Medex residence in Ottawa. Nye says he is fortunate to have his daughter as a caregiver, which implies she’s capable of go to him in his room in the course of the outbreak, however others on the residence aren’t so fortunate. (Submitted by Lisa Nye)

Nye’s daughter, Lisa, who is ready to go to her father as a caregiver, mentioned she thought “all of this is able to get higher” as soon as all residents had been vaccinated.

“They’re human beings and susceptible communities and it is unhappy. It is irritating, you recognize,” she mentioned. “There are nice employees that work right here, and I do know everybody’s making an attempt to do their greatest, however these are primary human rights.”

Vaccine ‘has not modified’ size of outbreak

In response to Laura Gallant, a spokesperson with Extendicare, solely 66 per cent of employees on the residence have been vaccinated.

In an e-mail, Gallant mentioned the house had carried out outbreak protocols “and security measures on the path of public well being” for the reason that two staff examined optimistic.

“Our staff is connecting with every resident to supply modified applications and one-on-one help, together with music remedy, and arranging common digital visits with family members,” she wrote.

Gallant mentioned the house is at the moment ready for each residents’ check outcomes and additional instruction from Ottawa Public Well being. The 2 employees members are isolating at residence, she mentioned.

In its personal assertion, OPH mentioned it is following the steering of the province’s Ministry of Well being, noting that “the size of an outbreak has not modified because of the vaccination standing of employees and residents.”

Daughter questions ethics of confinement

The ministry wrote in a press release that “till extra folks have the chance to obtain the vaccine, we should proceed to be vigilant in following public well being steering.”

“The ministry, the native public well being models and all of our long-term care sector companions proceed to work collectively to make sure that properties in outbreak have the help they want,” the assertion mentioned.

However after a yr of outbreaks at properties throughout the nation, Lisa Nye questions how moral it’s to maintain aged folks like her dad of their rooms as soon as they’ve obtained each doses of the vaccine.

“In the future, I feel we’re all going to look again at this and marvel how on earth we may have handled folks with such low regard,” she mentioned.

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