Nail salon outbreak has peaked, says Public Health
Kingston’s Chief Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Kieran Moore, says Kingston’s recent outbreak of COVID-19 peaked on Thursday, Jun. 25, 2020 and is coming down the epidemic curve.
“This is good news for our community,” he said. “It is not propagating, we caught it in time.” Kingston Frontenac Lennox & Addington (KFL&A) Public Health reported no new cases of COVID-19 this morning, for a second day in a row.
There are currently 39 active cases in the KFL&A public health region.
“Our nurses are contacting these individuals on a daily basis to make sure that they’re well, to make sure that they’re isolating from others,” Dr. Moore said. He noted that KFL&A is also monitoring over 170 close contacts of these infected individuals, to watch for signs of spread.
Through their follow-up investigations, KFL&A has indicated that there is no evidence of transmission from Amherstview Golf & Country Club, Rustic Spud, or Georgia Nails to report.
Dr. Moore addressed Amherstview Golf Club specifically in his COVID-19 update on Sunday, Jul. 5, 2020. Anyone who attended the club on June 22, 24 and 24 had been requested to go for testing. “That risk will expire very soon as we count 14 days from the time of that exposure,” he said, noting it had been a low-risk event.
KFL&A first announced a COVID-19 outbreak on Thursday, Jun. 25, following three weeks of low, or no, pandemic activity in the area. Since then, over 5000 people have been tested. 33 cases have been traced to Binh’s Nails and Spa, two to Kingdom Nails, and two to Georgia Nails.
An additional five cases, not connected to the workplaces KFL&A had identified, were also found through the course of testing.
One person had returned home from Europe, one had travelled outside the KFL&A region, two are under investigation for further details, and one is suspected to have picked it up from extensive contacts in the GTA.
Dr. Moore cautioned that Kingstonians must remain vigilant.
“We’re on the right track”, he said. “Monitor for signs of symptoms of COVID, get tested if you develop any signs or symptoms of COVID-19. As well, practice all of the preventive strategies that we’ve been recommending.”
KFL&A introduced a universal masking policy for public indoor spaces on Friday, June 26. Additionally, public health is advising residents to practice hand hygiene, and maintain a regular social circle of no more than 10 trusted individuals.
“It’s all about prevention,” Dr Moore said.
For full details on the current COVID-19 case data in Kingston, view our newly updated COVID-19 guide here.