Shared on behalf of Jennifer Wintermans, EVP, Communications & Corporate Relations, COVID-19 Lead and Amy Carr, Interim, CHRO Director, Human Resources
Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre (TBRHSC) recognizes that the ability to travel can be an important part of celebrating the holidays and being with those you care about. If you plan to travel, please ensure you do so safely.
Ontario is currently facing a significant increase of positive COVID-19 cases. With this in mind, we need to remember to keep ourselves and others safe at this time. The rising number of COVID-19 cases, as well as the high transmissibility of the Omicron variant, has caused our province to introduce restrictions on gatherings, restaurant capacity, events and advisement against non-essential travel. We strongly encourage you to avoid travel if not essential and avoid any “hot spots” if possible.
The Thunder Bay District Health Unit (TBDHU) has released their advisement against all non-essential travel outside of our region. If staff, professional staff, learners or volunteers at TBRHSC wish to continue with their travel plans over the holidays, please note that you must follow any guidelines put in place by either the TBDHU, the province of Ontario or any Federal ArriveCAN requirements upon return.
All staff and professional staff are reminded:
- To consider avoiding travel to areas deemed high-risk, refer to the Government of Canada travel resources at https://travel.gc.ca/travelling/advisories
- To follow all public health and federal guidelines while travelling: https://www.tbdhu.com/travel
- That if detained outside of Canada, additional required time off must be taken as extended vacation time if available or as unpaid time off.
- To complete the screening tool prior to each shift, monitor for symptoms, disclose any close contacts and follow instructions from Occupational Health & Safety (OHS) for a failed screen.
- To practice physical distancing, hand hygiene and wear PPE appropriate for the work environment.
- That TBRHSC follows Federal, Provincial and local public health requirements and as such our guidelines and requirements are subject to change.
Thank you for your continued commitment in keeping one another, our patients, their families and the community safe.
All Hospital COVID-19 updates and resources are available on the iNtranet at https://comms.tbrhsc.net/covid-19-information.