West Nipissing Ouest – Sturgeon Falls, Verner, St Charles, Field and Area News NORTH BAY, ON – As of June 16, 13 members of the North Bay Jail community have tested positive for COVID-19. The outbreak has been upgraded to facility wide, due to further spread of COVID-19 within the North Bay Jail. No COVID-19 infections have resulted in serious illness requiring hospitalization.
As part of outbreak management protocols at the North Bay Jail, the North Bay Parry Sound District Health Unit (Health Unit) continues its work in collaboration with the Ministry of the Solicitor General, the North Bay Regional Health Centre’s COVID-19 Assessment Centre and the North Bay Jail to prevent further spread of COVID-19 within the facility. Preventive steps taken to date include:
- Ongoing COVID-19 testing of staff and individuals in custody
- Self-isolation of individuals who have tested positive for COVID-19
- Management of high-risk close contacts of individuals who have tested positive for COVID-19
- Increased screening and cleaning protocols
The Health Unit will be offering staff of the North Bay Jail their second dose of vaccine this week and the Ministry of the Solicitor General will be offering individuals in custody their second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, or first dose for those who have not yet received their vaccine.
“Our staff are working closely with the North Bay Jail to help prevent further spread,” explains Dr. Jim Chirico Medical Officer of Health. “Through the implementation of outbreak interventions and preventative measures we hope to see the individuals recover and stop transmission within the facility.”
The Health Unit will continue to monitor the North Bay Jail outbreak and will report any new COVID-19 cases on the outbreak section of the COVID-19 Status Report dashboard.
For more information, visit www.myhealthunit.ca/COVID-19.