'Overwhelmed' by Omicron, HPHS no longer declaring COVID-19 outbreaks at workplaces or community settings

Hamilton Public Health Services says it will no longer be declaring new COVID-19 outbreaks associated with workplaces or community settings.

HPHS says it is prioritizing its staffing resources to manage COVID-19 outbreaks in high-risk settings to protect community members' most vulnerable to severe outcomes of the virus, along with front-line health-care workers, and other front-line workers, such as educators, correctional officers and non-clinical staff in local health-care settings.

"The emergence of the highly-transmissible Omicron variant has led to a large surge in the number of community members testing positive for COVID-19 in Hamilton, which has overwhelmed Hamilton Public Health Services' ability to provide outbreak management in all settings," HPHS said in a news release.

High-risk settings in Hamilton include hospitals and complex continuing care facilities or acute care facilities; congregate settings (long-term care homes, retirement homes, shelters, supportive housing, correctional institutions); childcare centres; and schools.

HPHS says these high-risk settings will continue to be provided with infection prevention and control guidance by Hamilton Public Health Services staff and declared outbreaks will be published online.

Businesses, organizations and individuals should take measures to slow transmission of COVID-19 in these settings, HPHS says, adding that public health recommendations to support these efforts are available.

Public health says it "strongly recommends" local workplaces, sports teams and other non-high-risk community settings with five or more confirmed cases of COVID-19 consider discontinuing operations for a period of 10 days to break transmission in the setting.

"This difficult, but necessary action, will help reduce the spread of the highly-transmissible Omicron variant of concern, and protect strained local health-care capacity and Hamilton's most vulnerable," HPHS says.

As part of this shift of focus for COVID-19 outbreak management to protect Hamilton's most vulnerable, HPHS says the Class Order under Section 22 of the Health Protection and Promotion Act related to workplaces issued on May 3, 2021 has been rescinded as of Dec. 23.