SpinCo Hamilton COVID-19 outbreak had ‘wide-ranging’ impact
Published October 19, 2020 at 3:54 pm
At Monday’s (Oct. 19) Board of Health meeting, representatives from Hamilton’s Public Health Services (PHS) provided some insight on the impact of the outbreak of COVID-19 at SpinCo Hamilton and some additional measures for gyms to take.
During a presentation about the local response to the pandemic, Hamilton’s chief medical officer of health and several epidemiologists shared a graphic that illustrated the progress of the virus from the source of the outbreak and outwards.
As of Friday, 74 people in the community have contracted COVID-19 in connection to the SpinCo outbreak, which has generated international headlines.
According to Mackenzie Slifierz, an epidemiologist who has been investigating the outbreak, there were primarily 48 people infected — two SpinCo staff members and 46 patrons. These are considered ‘primary’ cases.
Slifierz noted that these 48 had direct contact with the SpinCo classes impacted by the virus.
Those primary 48 cases have been linked to various settings across Hamilton, including 15 households, eight schools and child-care settings, six health-care facilities, and 22 other workplaces and venues.
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Not all of these settings, Slifierz noted, had a resulting confirmed case of COVID-19, these settings have been identified as potential points of contact.
So far, 26 people are believed to have contracted the virus from the primary 48 in select settings in the community. These 26 are considered ‘secondary’ cases.
“This information is still preliminary,” Slifierz said. “The outbreak is still happening and under investigation.”
Dr. Elizabeth Richardson, Hamilton Chief Medical Officer of Health, said that understanding the “wide-ranging impacts of this outbreak…[is a reminder] of how important it is to follow the current public health protocols.”
These include the standard recommendations: washing hands, wearing masks, physical distancing and staying home when sick, among others.
Dr. Richardson said that PHS has been communication with the Province about gyms and fitness settings and developing additional safety measures.
She said that in Hamilton, PHS will be “formalizing” additional recommendations for gyms and exercise studios on Monday.
The additional protocols are expected to include a requirement that patrons wear masks even while exercising and that a physical distance of three metres will be necessary to reduce the spread of the virus in these settings.
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