COVID-19 Update Jan 19, 2021: Updated Vaccine Eligibility

January 19, 2021

Hello everyone,

I am happy to report that the outbreak at Seasons Olds was rescinded. I will now update you on the four outbreaks we are currently dealing with. For our staff, residents and families at Seasons Amherstburg, Seasons Camrose and Seasons Welland, please refer to your site-specific updates and communication for current outbreak protocols and restrictions in place at your homes.

Seasons Amherstburg in Ontario. Things are progressing well. Our remaining staff case will be considered resolved as of Wednesday. We continue to have zero resident cases. Should things continue along this trajectory, we hope Windsor Essex County Health Unit will clear us of our outbreak status this week.

Seasons Camrose in Alberta. Prevalence testing confirmed through laboratory results has revealed 1 additional positive resident case. Our total active resident case count is now 24. An additional team member has also tested positive. This brings our staff total to 10. We anticipate that many of these staff and resident cases will be deemed resolved by AHS and CDC on Wednesday.

Seasons Welland in Ontario. Our positive team member case has been deemed resolved by Niagara Region Public Health. We now have zero staff cases. In a circumstance unrelated to our outbreak, Niagara Region Public Health confirmed that an LHIN Paramed homecare worker had tested positive for COVID-19. Affected residents at Seasons Welland were placed on droplet contact precautions and were swabbed. Yesterday we learned that one of these residents has tested positive. We continue to monitor this situation closely.

Seasons St. Thomas, in Ontario. We were advised on January 16 that we have one positive staff case of COVID-19. As a result, Southwestern Public Health officially declared us an outbreak.

COVID-19 Vaccine

Seasons communities were contacted by their Local Public Health Units (LPHU) and/or Alberta Health Services (AHS) regarding team member vaccinations.  As expected, the news comes quickly without much notice, so we appreciate our residents and family members’ flexibility and understanding. As an additional resource, we are including a new vaccination fact sheet to address common myths and questions from our pharmacy partner, CareRx.

Some regions will allow us to add a Designated Family/Support Person/Caregiver to our vaccination lists: Please understand that each region determines who and how many team members/essential caregivers can participate at any given time, not Seasons. Rest assured, if you have expressed your desire to participate we will let you know as soon as possible.

In Alberta, AHS is focusing on vaccinations for Designated Supportive Living residents first. For more information on Alberta Health’s phased approach to vaccination, please visit their website.

Alberta Vaccination Eligibility & Clinic Dates:

Ontario Vaccination Eligibility & Clinic Dates:

While the news of the vaccine rollout is exciting and gives us hope, we must remain vigilant. The immunity provided by the vaccine is not fully effective until after the second dose is administered. In the meantime, in the interest of everyone’s safety, we continue to ask all residents to adhere to the following protocols:

• Self-isolate for 14 days if you did not follow provincial requests to remain on-site, instead choosing to visit with friends and/or family at another household, especially where infection prevention and control protocols were not followed
• Wear a mask continuously when you are not in your suite
• Practice good hand hygiene and physical distancing
• If you feel unwell, report it immediately to a Seasons Team Member

We continue to ask all Designated Visitors to:

• Review our infection prevention and control training tools as required monthly
• Not visit a Seasons Community for 14 days if you visited with family and/or friends from another household within the last week
• Wear a mask continuously while visiting a Seasons resident (this means not eating or drinking while you are visiting)
• Practice good hand hygiene and physical distancing
• If, after your visit, you become symptomatic or are notified that you had close contact with a COVID- 19 positive individuals, please contact Seasons immediately

We continue to ask all team members to:

• Practice all infection prevention and control (IPAC) protocols
• Refrain from visiting with friends and/or family that are not in your household
• Practice physical distancing from fellow team members during breaks

Cubigo Launch

Cubigo launched on Monday, January 18th!  If we have your email address, you should have received an Invitation to Cubigo via email: Please check that the message did not go directly to your Junk/Spam folder. Please note that the link included in the email invitation expires after 24 hours.

Family members, if you would like to (a) receive notifications about new posts and memos such as this one in the newsfeed (b) view the menu and activities or (c) book a visit, contact the Business Manager at your loved one’s Seasons community and provide them with your name, the resident’s name and your personal email address, so an invitation can be sent. Each Seasons community will reach out to all residents and staff as well.

Our greatest priority remains the health and safety of our staff and residents. Whether you work, live or support a loved one at Seasons, I want to thank you all for your continued vigilance and commitment to the collective health and safety of our retirement communities.

Sincerely,

LeighAnne Voll
Chief Operating Officer,
Seasons Retirement Communities

For additional online resources for COVID-19 you can visit the following sites:

Canada Health
Alberta Health
Alberta Health Services
Public Health Ontario
Retirement Home Regulatory Authority