Testing and Proof of Vaccine to Fight COVID

Increasingly, the Omicron variant of COVID is causing great concern because of its ease of spread. At Marianhill, as mandated by the Ontario government, we are implementing guidelines to avoid any outbreak among our residents and staff.

For this reason, you may see delays in admittance to Marianhill and reduced visiting hours over the Christmas holidays and into the new year.

We hope these regulations will be temporary as we ramp up required testing of visitors and staff to ensure no one is in contact with your loved one without first showing a negative test result. However, the tests take time to complete and therefore may impact your visit.

Effective December 15, 2021, Marianhill will be adhering to the following guidelines.

Vaccinations

• Effective December 15 2021: All visitors must provide proof of full vaccination, unless you have a valid medical exemption or are attending to a resident in a palliative end-of-life situation.
• Effective December 20 2021: To gain entry to Marianhill, current caregivers must show proof of their FIRST dose.
• Effective January 4 2022: All visitors are required to provide a proof-of-vaccine QR code for scanning each time you enter Marianhill. If you do not have access to a mobile device, please bring a paper copy with you.
• Effective February 21 2022: To gain entry to Marianhill, current caregivers must show proof of ALL required doses.
• Children 12 and under are permitted at Marianhill, provided they are fully vaccinated and receive a rapid antigen test upon arrival. The only exception is when visiting a resident in a palliative end-of-life situation.

Surveillance Testing

• Rapid antigen testing of all fully vaccinated visitors will be completed the first time you enter Marianhill on any given day; this includes a 15-minute wait for test results prior to proceeding to the resident’s room.
• Infants under the age of one year are not considered visitors, so therefore can enter Marianhill without testing and vaccinations.

Visiting

• Indoor visiting hours are 8:30am to 8:30pm. Outdoor visits are not feasible at this time.
• Testing clinic will be open daily from 8:30am to 4:00 pm. Anybody wishing to visit must ensure they arrive so they can be tested during these hours. After 4:30pm only visitors who can provide a negative test result for that day will be allowed to enter Marianhill.
• A maximum of two visitors are allowed at one time per resident. Staff will be monitoring and we ask for your assistance in following this protocol.
• For caregivers providing feeding assistance, we ask that this be done within the resident’s room, as we are unable to accommodate extra people in the dining room. Please ring the call bell, and a staff member will be happy to assist you in obtaining the resident’s meal.
• We ask that caregivers visit only with one resident at one time in the resident room.
• Please do not take residents into the dining room and do not attend any activities.
• At this time, visitors must not remove their masks at any time.
• You may bring in food for a resident, but caregivers are not permitted to eat either in the dining room or in the resident’s room.

Absences

• Social day trips are limited to residents who are fully vaccinated only.
• When a resident returns to Marianhill from a day absence, they must:
  – be actively screened upon return
  – take a rapid test and PCR test on day three following the absence
  – take a PCR test on day seven following the absence
  No isolation is required unless a positive result is received. However, if a resident has a known exposure to a COVID-19 case, they must be isolated and tested using a PCR test.
• All residents, regardless of vaccination status, may continue to leave Marianhill for essential reasons, such as medical appointments.
• Overnight absences for social purposes regardless of resident’s vaccination status are currently suspended. Residents who wish to leave Marianhill overnight for social purposes or due to COVID-19 will be discharged. This does not apply for a hospital stay or palliative overnight leave.

Out-of-Country Travel

• Any visitor that has travelled outside of Canada in the 14 days prior to entering Marianhill, regardless of vaccination status, will not be allowed entry. We want to ensure the safety of the residents and we thank you for your cooperation. The exception to this would be for those visiting a resident in a palliative end-of-life situation, when a rapid antigen test must be completed prior to entering Marianhill.

Gifts and Care Packages

• Gifts and care packages from family and friends are encouraged. Packages can be left in the bin in between the front doors and will be delivered immediately.
• Celebrating the holidays with food is important for many people and is encouraged. Visitors are able to bring in any goodies in for the resident.
• If you are visiting the resident please take these packages directly to the resident room once you have been granted entry.

Business Office Christmas Hours

• December 24: 8:00am to 2:00pm
• December 27: closed
• December 28: closed
• December 31: 8:00am to 2:00pm
• January 3: closed

Thank you for your cooperation and understanding as we work through this new variant and the enhanced restrictions placed on long-term care.