Resumption of medical services comes with new rules

Non-essential and elective medical services will soon be offered again locally with new measures in place to reduce the spread of COVID-19, the Windsor-essex County Health Unit announced Wednesday.

As part of the first stage to reopen the province, the ministry of health on Tuesday evening released guidance for Ontario’s health sector to restart services that came to a halt in March as a precaution amid the coronavirus pandemic.

“The way we engage with our health services and our health system will be very different than we are used to,” said Medical Officer of Health Wajid Ahmed during the health unit’s daily briefing.

“As I have mentioned previously, we are anxious to see our primary care providers supporting the population with primary care needs, including immunization and any other urgent needs of their clients.”

The new guidance from the ministry dictates several infection prevention requirements health-care providers must follow that were not in place before the global pandemic. First, all providers must complete an “organization and point-of-care risk assessment to reduce the risk of COVID-19 infection,” Ahmed said.

Health-care providers must also implement a hierarchy of hazard control measures, like using telephone and virtual visits where possible instead of in-person visits, and installing physical barriers at medical reception areas like the ones now in place at grocery store checkouts.

Patients should also be screened for COVID-19 by phone and in-person. Any patients who require COVID -19 tests based on the results of their screening should be referred for testing, Ahmed said, though health-care providers trained and equipped to conduct the test can do so on-site.

“This is an important step for our community,” Ahmed said.

“It will take time for the healthcare providers to put all of the necessary controls in place to reintroduce these services. As well, there will be a need (for) considerable communication and collaboration with residents and support services to ensure patients and clients understand the rules and limitations around services going forward.”

The health unit will be available to work with the local health sector to provide training and guidance specific to COVID-19 as service providers get back to work, Ahmed said.

“What this means for the public is the services for medical care you have put on hold or have been waiting (for) will soon be available to you again.”

Ahmed said the health unit will soon resume its dental services, but details of how and when that operation will operate have yet to be released.

On Wednesday morning, the province extended orders issued under the Emergency Management and Civil Protections Act until June 9. Those orders were previously set to expire at the end of this week.

Among other things, the measures continue to restrict social gatherings to no more than five people. Closures are also still in effect for outdoor playgrounds, play structures and equipment, outdoor water facilities, restaurants and bars — except for takeout — and hair salons and barbers.

Four additional cases of COVID-19 were confirmed in Windsor and Essex County on Wednesday, bringing the number of people who have tested positive in the region to 920. Of those, 490 individuals have recovered, 232 are self-isolating, and 63 have died. Fourteen people are in hospital and the status of the remaining 120 individuals is currently unknown to the health unit.

Locally, 16,080 residents have been tested for COVID-19, with 1,084 of those tests still pending results.