ST. JOHN'S, N.L. — The government had nothing more to offer frustrated rotational workers in Newfoundland and Labrador Wednesday, but did relax restrictions for workers in long-term care homes.
The Department of Health has relaxed restrictions over the past few weeks on workers who do turnaround shifts in parts of Canada outside the Atlantic provinces, including halving the 14-day isolation period as long as a test at the end of seven days comes out negative.
“We have tried our best since the situation has changed to strike a balance between the benefits of shorter isolation periods for the workers and their families, but also the risk of transmission, bearing in mind what this disease is doing elsewhere,” said Health Minister Dr. John Haggie, who was back online Wednesday after a medical procedure sidelined him for a couple of weeks.
Haggie said the changing epidemiology in other areas of the country is a constant source of concern, noting that British Columbia had to shut down bars and nightclubs again after COVID-19 cases started to rise.
But he also said the situation with rotational workers is different from others allowed into the province from the general population.
“Rotational workers are a special case,” he said. “They rotate. They spend a considerable amount of their time in a different environment because of the nature of their work.”
The minister said work camps are screened and supervised, and infection avoidance is often more rigorous than in the general population.
But he said until a four-week trial period for the new rule is up, the department won’t take any additional measures.
“There’s no intention at the moment to change things any further.”
Alberta outbreak
The department has said testing people on arrival in general is not an effective measure for safety, but there are exceptions, and one of those arose Wednesday.
Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Janice Fitzgerald issued an alert to rotational workers returning to the province from Syncrude’s Mildred Lake oilsands site and Suncor’s Base Plant, both located near Fort McMurray, Alta., after COVID-19 outbreaks were reported at both camps.
Workers who have returned from the Syncrude site since Aug. 14, and those who returned from Suncor’s plant since Aug. 8, are asked to call 811 for instructions.
Meanwhile, Haggie said a software issue with the 811 line, as well as a staffing snarl with Eastern Health’s appointment line, coincidentally caused headaches for rotational workers who have already been calling to arrange their seventh-day test.
“Hopefully that situation will improve over the next few days,” he said.
Long-term care
The news was better for long-term care workers in the province, many of whom have been forced to settle for part-time hours because of a one-worker, one-home restriction.
Those clauses will be removed as of Thursday.
Peter Jackson is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter covering health for The Telegram
