Ontario to revisit COVID-19 rules for gyms and fitness centres as test-positivity rate climbs

Thestar.com
Oct. 15, 2020
Rob Ferguson

Ontario is taking a closer look at COVID-19 guidelines for gyms and fitness facilities across the province now that an outbreak at a spinning studio in Hamilton has spawned at least 69 cases.

The review comes as the government reported the test positivity rate climbed to what associate chief medical officer Dr. Barbara Yaffe called a “worrisome” three per cent and another 721 Ontarians were infected with the virus.

A new provincial directive also barred families and friends from taking residents of nursing homes in the hot zones of Toronto, Peel and Ottawa out for day trips and overnights for social or personal reasons effective Friday, with exceptions for medical and compassionate reasons.

“Our priority has to be the safety and well-being of the residents and staff,” said Long-Term Care Minister Merrilee Fullerton.

She noted the restriction could extend to other communities as COVID-19 takes deeper hold in other locales with the government eager to avoid another surge of the virus in long-term care like the one in the spring, where more than 1,900 residents and eight workers died.

The apparent super-spreader event at SpinCo in Hamilton caught the attention of provincial officials earlier this week and has grown to 46 customers and employees testing positive, along with 23 other household contacts or friends to date.

“Even though they followed guidelines there was obviously significant transmission so I do think we need to review the guidelines,” Yaffe told a news conference with Premier Doug Ford on Wednesday at Queen’s Park.

“That’s in process.”

New Democrat Leader Andrea Horwath said the government owes it to fitness centres and their patrons to provide effective and prompt guidance to reflect lessons learned.

“When they do everything by the book and then this happens it really is devastating to everyone.”

Last Friday, Ford ordered the closures of gyms and fitness centres in Toronto, Peel and Ottawa because of rapidly rising case levels on the advice of his health experts in addition to banning indoor dining and drinking, indoor team sports, and closures of theatres, bingo halls and casinos.

Yaffe defended the gym shutdowns,saying “that’s the kind of facility where there can be and has been transmission” and noted many people do not wear masks while exercising. Current guidelines require patrons to be at least two metres apart. SpinCo said its bikes followed that with the studio’s capacity reduced to 21 riders, down from 43.

The Hamilton Spectator reported the owners of SpinCo said the local public health department told them that the “patient zero” of the outbreak did not display symptoms.

Yaffe acknowledged the test positivity rate -- a key measure used to assess spread of COVID-19 -- rose to three per cent from 2.6 the previous day, meaning three of every 100 people tested were positive, pointing to an increase in the rate of community transmission.

The seven-day average test positivity rate of 2.2 per cent is edging up, she added, as is the rate of people tested at pharmacies, restricted to those without symptoms or contact with known cases, she added.

Health Minister Christine Elliott said Ontarians should not be discouraged if they can’t get a flu shot immediately at their local pharmacy or from their doctor because “shipments are coming in on a regular basis.”

The 721 new COVID-19 cases across the province were down from 746 the previous day and below the record 939 reported last Friday.

Toronto had 270 new infections, Peel 170 and Ottawa 39, a large drop from 116 the day before. Overall, 84 per cent of the new cases were in the Greater Toronto-Hamilton Area.

However, with new research showing higher levels of COVID-19 in the Ottawa sewage system than last week, Yaffe said the nation’s capital will likely see an increase in infections in the next two to four days.

“It’s an alarm bell,” she told reporters. “It’s a warning sign they need to be looking for cases.”

Ford said the province is hiring another 500 contact tracing staff by mid-November, with most going to Ottawa and Toronto where the high number of cases has forced public health departments to track contacts in only the most serious outbreaks.

It’s another sign Ontario isn’t ready for the expected spread of COVID-19 this fall, said Green Leader Mike Schreiner.

“Once again, the premier is reacting to a situation he let get out of control.”

The number of patients in hospital for COVID-19 increased by one to 231, with four more people requiring intensive care pushing that total to 64 with 35 on ventilators. Four weeks ago, there were 44 in hospital, 20 in ICU and 12 on ventilators.

There were another 96 cases reported in the almost 5,000 schools across Ontario but the number of schools with cases fell by 15 to 421. Five schools were closed because of outbreaks, an increase of two from Tuesday’s report.

Labs across the province processed 32,206 cases Tuesday with a backlog of 25,558 remaining.