The Thunder Bay District Health Unit (TBDHU) region will be in a temporary shutdown, starting today, Saturday December 26, for 14 days as part of the Government of Ontario Province Wide Shutdown that was announced earlier this week..
This Province wide shutdown means TBDHU will experience time-limited public health and workplace safety measures to control the spread of COVID-19. The measures in place are similar to those experienced in the spring. Individuals are being asked to stay home as much as possible, unless it is for essential reasons.
“While this is not the way we would want to celebrate the holidays, this is an opportunity to get our case numbers under better control,” says Dr. Janet DeMille, Medical Officer of Health.
TBDHU encourages all residents to follow all public health measures to protect the health of individuals and our health system. These include:
- Stay home as much as possible
- Get together only with the people in your household; individuals who live alone may consider joining one other household. Don’t visit in-person with others and don’t have visitors over to your home.
- Limit trips outside the home to essential reasons (work, grocery/pharmacy shopping, medical appointments). It is also ok to go outside to get some exercise such going for a walk, maintaining physical distancing from anyone not a part of your immediate household
- Work from home if possible
- Mark special occasions by meeting online, especially over the holiday season
As usual, if you get any COVID-19 symptoms, even mild ones, isolate immediately and arrange to get tested at your local assessment centre.
“2020 has been a difficult year with this pandemic and these unusual holiday times are another hurdle we have to deal with. We want to thank everyone for their commitment to these measures and for dealing with these ongoing challenges to keep our communities safe. 2021 is going to begin amidst these current challenges, however, we can look forward to a better year ahead,” says Dr. Janet DeMille.
Visit the TBDHU Website for more information or contact TBDHU at (807) 625-5900 or
toll-free: 1-888-294-6630.
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For more information - Health Unit Media: news@tbdhu.com.