The Saskatchewan Union of Nurses (SUN) says the provincial government is dragging its feet on declaring a COVID-19 outbreak at the Pasqua Hospital after a patient at the facility tested positive for the virus earlier this week.
On Thursday, when the case was announced, SUN president Tracy Zambory called on the province to declare the case an outbreak, saying the patient came in close contact with 38 people and non-close contact with 34 others.
Zambory called again for the outbreak declaration Friday, saying that one of the patient's contacts at Pasqua is now showing symptoms of COVID-19. Zambory said the call has gone unanswered, with the provincial officials calling the case as an "occurrence," as opposed to an outbreak.
"This is turning into a serious matter and I really think we should be acting in a much more swift, a much more concise way," she said.
Zambory said there is a lot at stake if the province doesn't take action. She said an outbreak declaration would allow the hospital to take steps to contain the virus, like closing certain wards and limiting access to the public.
"We've seen across North America, if not the globe, what happens if we don't act swiftly," she said, noting it can result in more patients getting sick and a health-care system being overloaded, which she said is the last thing frontline workers want.
"As registered nurses, we're not trying to be fear mongers or raise alarms, but we're here to hold the system accountable."
Numerous factors at play
Earlier this month, the province declared an outbreak at Victoria Hospital in Prince Albert after one patient tested positive for the virus.
On Thursday, when the Pasqua case was announced, the province's chief medical health officer Dr. Saqib Shahab was questioned about inconsistencies between the declaration in P.A. and the lack of one in Regina.
He said there are numerous factors at play, noting the investigation into the case and its potential transmission is still underway.
CBC Saskatchewan requested an interview with an official from the Ministry of Health to respond to SUN's concerns, but a statement was provided instead.
The statement said the ministry appreciates SUN's concerns.
"All appropriate precautions are being taken within the Pasqua Hospital," the statement said.
The statement said the investigation is ongoing and additional testing is underway.
The province recently published definitions on what classifies an outbreak. The province's website says the new definitions were published on May 15. So far, the province has declared at least five outbreaks, with two being declared over: the one at Prince Albert's Victoria Hospital and one at Meadow Lake Hospital.
Outbreaks at the La Loche Health Centre, the Lloydminster Hospital and in Northern Village of Beauval are still active.
SHA still investigating
CBC Saskatchewan also requested an interview with someone from the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) to respond to SUN's concerns, but a statement was provided instead.
It said the Pasqua patient had been in proximity of more than 100 people within the health-care setting. Of those contacts, 38 are self-isolating at home and 34 have been advised to continue working, but to self-monitor. The others were determined to be non-contacts.
"We are still investigating the situation and will declare an outbreak or not when we reach a point where we believe it is appropriate," the SHA said.
"Declaring an outbreak or not does not change the way this case and contacts are investigated in the hospital and the community. In order for an acute care facility outbreak to be confirmed, one or more residents or staff with laboratory confirmed COVID-19 where transmission occurred or cannot be excluded in the acute health care facility during a specified period is required."
The authority said it will provide an update on the investigation "as soon as one is available."
Some experts say the province's unwillingness to declare an outbreak in Regina after one was declared under seemingly similar circumstances in Prince Albert highlights a lack of consistency.
Dr. Anne Huang, a former medical health officer with the province, said she feels that too much variability around outbreak declarations may be harmful.
"Within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, where we have requested the majority of our residents to take extraordinary actions ... the lack of consistency or standardization in how we determine whether an outbreak has occurred or not, risk the public confidence in our health-care systems," she said.
Huang said the standardization of protocols in long-term care homes contributed to there being so few cases in such facilities in the province, saying she feels the same logic should be applied in this situation.
"That standardization will be important going forward within the SHA public health infrastructure," she said.
NDP wants consistency
Opposition NDP Leader Ryan Meili also raised concerns about the situation at Pasqua.
"The bigger concern for me is there was a case in a hospital in Regina where there were dozens of people in contact with this patient," he said.
"Hopefully, we see no transmission to the healthcare workers or beyond. What really matters most is that the testing and the tracing is done and that anyone who is at risk is able to be supported to isolate themselves and not pass it on for others."
Retirement community 'staying strong'
The patient who tested positive in Regina was a resident at the Revera Renaissance Retirement Residence.
In a May 13 statement, Revera's chief medical officer Dr. Rhonda Collins said the residence is working with public health officials and following pandemic and outbreak practices, which include monitoring residents for symptoms, enhanced cleaning procedures and changes to client programming. Staff at the home are regularly providing their residents and families with updates on the situation, she said.
On Friday, Revera's vice president of corporate affairs and communications Susan Schutta said residents of the home are supporting one another during the uncertain time.
"They are doing well, are staying strong and are committed to getting through this together."
As of Friday afternoon, there have been 590 cases of COVID-19 reported in Saskatchewan.
