Newsroom

WRH Implements Holiday Gathering Guidelines Amid Pandemic

1-12-2020

With.the.arrival.of.the.holiday season, Windsor Regional Hospital as well as our partners in social services and health care sectors have discussed the following guidelines aimed at keeping our employees, patients and their loved ones safe this holiday season.

This year more than ever, we want to give everyone the opportunity to celebrate the season and show some holiday spirit. We just need to make sure we do it safely - and #SpreadJoyNotCovid through the rest of 2020.

With that in mind, as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to intensify in terms of community numbers and hospitalizations, it is important to ensure all staff are aware of important guidelines regarding holiday gatherings, travel, and related matters.

Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) introduced some Canada-wide holiday guidelines for gatherings and travel.

Learn more about holiday gatherings travel recommendations from the Public Health Agency of Canada here. Also, the Ontario government released its guidelines on how to keep you and your loved ones safe this holiday season.

We ask that you and your colleagues follow the recommendations below to keep the holiday season safe and COVID free as best we can.

Based on discussions by the regional IPAC (Infection Prevention and Control Committee) the following recommendations have been established to protect staff, patients and visitors to our facilities:

Food

• Staff should refrain from potlucks, multiple serving food items, and other shared food items. You CAN order food and have it delivered to the hospital if the food placed in single-serving containers/packaging.
• If you are having food delivered to the hospital, you must inform the screening desk and make arrangements to pick up the food to bring to your department.

Gatherings

• We must continue to practice physical distancing, including limits to the number of staff in staff rooms and in the cafeterias/eating areas based on an ability to physically distance, two metres between staff, especially while unmasked to eat and drink. Based on this ongoing concern, in-person staff gatherings are not supported due to the risk of COVID 19 exposure and spread.

Decorations

Seasonal decorations are permissible as long as:

• No high touch surfaces are covered, i.e. doorknobs, light switches, railings
• No surfaces that will be touched by patients and require cleaning and disinfection
• Traffic and housekeeping is not impeded, i.e. at elevator bays or other areas that are high traffic
• No Occupational Health risks, i.e. trip hazards, falling items

Based on discussions by regional HR (Human Resources) leads, the following recommendations were made regarding staff travel:

Travel within Ontario

• Individuals and families in higher transmission areas should avoid travel to lower transmission areas (for example, from orange to yellow, from yellow to green), except for essential reasons.

Inter-provincial travel:

• Inter-provincial travel is NOT recommended. Staying home is the best way to protect yourself and others.

Away From Hospital:

• In-person staff gatherings outside of hospital are NOT supported due to the risk of COVID-19 exposure and spread.