COVID-19 Update: May 5, 2020 – A message to our valued community 
May 5, 2020
To our valued community,
I am pleased to announce that two residents receiving care in our Designated Care/Cohorting Areas (DCAs) after testing positive for COVID-19 are now considered recovered and they have returned home. This is very good news, especially for their families and the team members who care for them every day.
Early in our evolving response to COVID-19, we made the decision to establish DCAs in order to provide the safest circumstances for both residents and team members. We based this decision on the fact that we didn’t understand the true nature and extent of how the virus would spread, so using our typical in-room isolation procedures could be challenging. We know this decision made some families concerned for their loved ones, but we wanted to take every precaution to ensure there would be no spread to other homes. I am proud to say that the DCAs operated according to plan and allowed us to contain the virus when necessary by ensuring we removed the risk from the home and ensured only dedicated staff cared for those with COVID-19. As a result of not having residents with COVID-19 at this time, we will temporarily close our DCAs, but they can be reopened very quickly if required.
None of this would be possible without the support of our Great People who were, and are, prepared to work in the DCAs to care for residents when they need it most. Some of you were called into action and others continue to stand by, ready to do your part. Thank you.
The lessening of restrictions in New Brunswick over the past two weeks is more encouraging news. While we know we must continue to be vigilant, we are working on strategies which will allow residents to leave safely and visitors to enter our communities in New Brunswick with screening and PPE measures in place. As these are finalized and approved by our health authorities, they will be shared with all of our valued stakeholders. In Nova Scotia, we remain cautious at this time and we are not making any changes in our protocols. We will always provide more details about changes to our valued community prior to them being implemented.
Our recovery plan will be guided by the same principles as our COVID-19 response plan, including making decisions based on information from the World Health Organization, Public Health Agency of Canada and provincial public health bodies.
Each of us has played a part in flattening the curve and getting us to this point. Now is the time to keep doing things right by following Public Health orders and monitoring yourself for symptoms. We will continue to be prepared for the fact that COVID-19 is still in our communities and may present itself at any time.
We are in this together.
