The outbreak at the Flin Flon Personal Care Home has been declared over, less than a week after it was first announced.
The provincial government announced the outbreak designation had ended for the facility April 20, along with two other sites, including the Grassroot Early Learning and Child Care Centre in Thompson.
The Northern Health Region (NHR) had confirmed to The Reminder that a staff member at the Flin Flon Personal Care Home had tested positive for COVID-19 and that the staff member in question was recovering at home in isolation. No other cases, either in residents or staff, have been reported at the home. The outbreak at the Personal Care Home was first announced April 16.
According to an NHR spokesperson, the change is due to the Manitoba government changing the definition of what does and what doesn’t count as an outbreak at a personal care home.
“There was a change in the definition of a personal care home outbreak - it was revised from one positive COVID-19 case to two positive COVID-19 cases. As there was only one identified case at the Flin Flon Personal Care Home, the outbreak was declared over,” reads a statement from the spokesperson.
According to previous provincial guidelines, an outbreak would be declared for a long-term care home or personal care home if one person – a staff member, resident or other regular attendee - tested positive for COVID-19. Outbreak designations can remain in place for as long as three weeks after the last active case is confirmed as recovered.
If a second case surfaces at the Flin Flon Personal Care Home within a short timeframe of the first case, an outbreak may be designated at the home once again.
Last November, an outbreak was declared for the Personal Care Home after one staff member tested positive for COVID-19. No other cases connected to that first case were reported at the home and the outbreak was declared over by the province Dec. 16.
