OTTAWA -- Hastings Prince Edward Public Health says anyone who went to the Royal Canadian Legion branch in Wellington, ON between Nov. 30 and Dec. 18 is at risk for COVID-19.
In a media release on Saturday, the health unit for Belleville and the surrounding region said two cases of COVID-19 linked to the Wellington Legion have been confirmed and contact tracing is underway.
"While HPEPH is in the process of completing a thorough investigation, at this time all individuals who attended the Legion between November 30 – December 18 are currently considered to have potential high-risk exposure," the health unit said.
The HPEPH says individuals who attended the legion on these dates and are required to:
- self-isolate immediately;
- seek testing as soon as possible; and
- await further direction from public health.
See here for COVID-19 testing in the HPEPH region
"Any individual who visited the Legion on these dates, who has not received a call from HPEPH by end of day on Sunday December 20, is asked to contact HPEPH at 613-966-5500 or complete our online form for a risk assessment and to determine isolation dates," the HPEPH said.
The health unit said the risk of transmission from food items is low, but they're asking anyone who received food or packages from the Legion on those dates to monitor for symptoms of COVID-19. These individuals are not required to self-isolate unless otherwise told to do so by the health unit.
“The team at HPEPH is working diligently to identify and notify individuals who are known to have been at the facility on these dates,” sais Dr. Piotr Oglaza, medical officer of health for the HPEPH in a media release. “As we work through the case investigation and contact tracing process, we ask for cooperation of impacted individuals to isolate immediately and seek testing in order to prevent further local transmission of COVID-19.”
According to the HPEPH's COVID-19 dashboard, there are 36 people in the region with active cases of COVID-19 as of 2 p.m. Dec. 19. Two people are currently in hospital. The region has seen 245 total laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19 and five people have died.
