SHOCKED & DISMAYED
Turvey Centre owner Heather Gaber didn't hear until Friday morning about a COVID infection associated with a theatre group that used the facility on Nov. 14. But it wasn't the SHA passing on the word — it was someone who read it on the SHA website.
On Thursday, the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) declared an outbreak of COVID-19 had occurred at Regina's Turvey Centre — but the convention centre's owner only got the news from a friend the next day.
“I only found out 30 minutes ago,” said owner Heather Gaber on Friday morning. She was told about the outbreak from someone who saw the announcement on the SHA'S website.
According to the SHA, the outbreak occurred among cast members for a production of The Trial of Louis Riel play, which was performed at the Turvey Centre on Nov. 14.
Gaber said there were two staff members working at the convention centre that evening. She said the event itself wasn't well attended. Only 10 tickets were purchased. Gaber was also surprised the outbreak was declared so long after the play's performance.
“By no means do I want to discredit what anybody's doing, but the 14th seems a little out of the timelines to me. Everything that they've told us, or everything we've learned about the virus is that the transmission is within three to four days,” said Gaber.
She said it was “disheartening” that her staff would likely hear about the outbreak on the news before she had a chance to inform them. After learning the news, she planned to have a meeting to tell them on Friday.
“After you make a determination where it was transferred, why aren't we the next phone call?'” asked Gaber.
Contacted Friday by the Leader-post, the SHA would not comment on how many people had been affected by the outbreak. An SHA spokesperson said the focus of the outbreak and close contact investigation was the cast of the play, and that there was “minimal risk” to the staff of the facility or audience.
The SHA said it normally notifies the facility that hosts the source of the outbreak, and that it contacted the Turvey Centre to apologize for the oversight.
Gaber said no employees have gotten sick or shown any symptoms of the virus. She said the Turvey Centre has taken stringent precautions when it comes to hosting events, including the Louis Riel play.
Each day, temperature checks were performed on cast members, as was contact tracing. Anyone coming into the building for an event must also answer a health questionnaire and take a temperature check.
During the play, the first row of seating was removed to give the cast members extra distance from the audience. The cast was also asked to modify their set to accommodate social distancing guidelines.
When actors didn't have their masks on, they were not within six feet of each other.
“We did a lot of groundwork on this event, so I'm kind of shocked,” said Gaber.
Gaber wished she had been notified sooner so she could have learned if the staff had missed something or could improve upon their precautions.