COVID-19 outbreak declared at Toronto Rehab's Bickle Centre

University Health Network (UHN) has declared a COVID-19 outbreak at Toronto Rehab’s Bickle Centre.

The outbreak was reported on December 21 after two patients at the Dunn Avenue facility tested positive for coronavirus.

Bickle Centre treats inpatients and outpatients in the Complex Continuing Care and Geriatric Rehab and Dialysis programs.

UHN said an outbreak management team is working with staff to implement control measures and prevent any further spread of the virus. All processes will be reviewed to ensure UHN has done everything possible to reduce the risk of transmission.

Measures include testing all staff and patients in the affected unit and undertaking contact tracing where appropriate.

A thorough “terminal clean” of the outbreak unit, including all common areas, has been completed, and enhanced cleaning is ongoing.

In Ontario, a COVID-19 outbreak is declared in a hospital when there is evidence that the virus has been transmitted within a single unit.

According to its website, UHN has a “low threshold” for declaring outbreaks at their hospitals.

“Our hospitals remain open and there is no reason to be worried about coming to any UHN hospital or our Emergency Departments,” they said. “All UHN hospitals remain safe places to receive care.”