OTTAWA —
Two staff members at an east-end long-term care home have tested positive for COVID-19.

In a letter to families, obtained by CTV News Ottawa, Chris Smith, administrator of Extendicare Laurier Manor on Montreal Road, said the positive test results were delivered Monday morning.

“We have taken immediate steps to reduce the chance of transmission of this virus and to keep our residents and staff healthy,” Smith said.

All residents of the home will be isolated in their rooms, staff members will be assigned to only certain parts of the building, and all workers will wear masks for their entire shifts.

Workers at the home will also clean more often, take the temperature of residents twice a day, and monitor for symptoms in both residents and themselves. Staff will be screened for symptoms before starting their shifts. Visitors to the home will not be allowed.

“Our home has a very comprehensive infection, prevention and control program and we have enhanced this even further since learning of the threat of the novel coronavirus in late January,” Smith said.

A spokesperson for Extendicare, the company that owns the home, said further updates will be provided to families as details develop.

There are 619 laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa, as of Tuesday, and Ottawa Public Health is monitoring outbreaks at 15 institutions. 

According to Ottawa Public Health, a respiratory syncytial virus outbreak at Laurier Manor ended April 11. The home is now listed again in OPH’s institutional outbreak list, but it currently says the outbreak is of an unspecified respiratory illness.