An outbreak in Memorial park has three people in isolation at the moment, said Gail Spencer, Greater Sudbury's coordinator of shelters and homelessness program. But the logistics of testing and monitoring a vulnerable population have proved difficult.
On Oct. 12, Public Health Sudbury and Districts warned of a potential public exposure at Memorial Park, applicable to anyone who had “spent time” at the city’s downtown park. At that time, the health unit said there were three cases connected with the outbreak, and the risk of exposure was ongoing.
Memorial Park is the site of a large encampment, growing in recent weeks as the weather turns colder.
Those who had been to the park beyond just passing through were advised to self-monitor for symptoms, get tested, and to self-isolate.
But that can be challenging for a vulnerable population that usually doesn’t “have the ID markers they need,” said Spencer, in that identification such as a health card or drivers’ licence are often stolen, lost, or otherwise unavailable. Such a challenge that the original in-park testing date had to be postponed by 24 hours in order to co-ordinate with Health Sciences North and other community services.
“They don't have often don't have a piece of ID or a health card with them. So it does require a little bit of extra time for registration and coordination with Health Sciences North,” said Spencer. “We're ensuring that when people come to get tested, we know who they are and that test is linked to their medical record, so we don't have any confusion. It just took a little bit more time to get it all set up and organized to make sure we were doing it right.”
Testing began on Oct. 14, with Greater Sudbury community paramedics set up in the YMCA parking lot offering appointment-free testing. Public Health Sudbury and Districts was on site to continue to co-ordinate vaccinations, with public health nurses moving through the park, connecting with the population and offering to facilitate a vaccination.
Spencer said the vaccination clinics that have been offered over the last six months, both mass clinics and mobile clinics, to those who are homeless or are using emergency shelters have helped.
The isolation requirement was easily put in place as the City of Greater Sudbury still maintains 15 rooms set aside at a motel for those who need a place to self isolate if they contract COVID-19, or are a high-risk close contact. The motel was used early in the pandemic to help with shelter outbreaks, as well as housing those unable to find room in the shelter due to capacity limitations.
“Our outreach team drives people over there, they can stay in the hotel while they need to isolate, we provide them with food, we provide them with health care, social services, or cultural supports through our Indigenous partners, if necessary, and we do everything we can to encourage people to stay isolated,” said Spencer.
She said the protocols in place by community partners also provide a layer of safety.
“We work really closely to support the population to maintain physical distancing, to be able to wear masks, to have access to hand washing stations, things like that,” said Spencer. “And all those protocols are put in place within all our services.
Spencer said the outreach teams also work closely with those forced to live in the park. “Obviously, we're trying to support them to get housing, because that's the best way for people to stay safe,” said Spencer. “But in Memorial Park, the strategy is to offer testing and bring testing right to the location, so it's easy for people to access. We can continue to monitor if anybody has symptoms, we encourage testing, and we can bring people quickly over to isolation with our outreach van.”
No other cases connected to this outbreak have been reported as yet.
