Ontario has published a COVID-19 response framework that uses a colour-coded system to identify where regions fall among a ladder. Placement of a region into a specific colour is based on indicators such as weekly incidence rates, positivity rates and community transmission. A region will move up or down depending on these indicators which would also result in either restrictions being implemented or scaled back.
On November 14, the Halton, Hamilton, York and Toronto Region will be moved into the Red – Control level with stringent measures and specific enhanced measures. To read about the new framework and see what colour your region is in, visit the Government of Ontario’s webpage. While the provision of health services has not been impacted, it is important for RDTs to be cognizant of these restrictions and the incident rates in their region. Implementing additional precautions, such as treating individuals who screen negative for COVID-19 as positive, in high incidence areas may limit the spread of the virus.
The CDTO continues to strongly recommend that all dental laboratories in red or orange public health regions use enhanced precautions.
