Clean your hands

Hand hygiene is the most important way to prevent you and others from getting sick due to an infection. Hand hygiene refers to the cleaning of your hands by either washing them or applying alcohol-based hand rub. Consistently practicing good hand hygiene is essential to reduce the spread of infection in your at home, in daycares, schools, workplaces, and public places.

Hand Hygiene Resources

Hand Wash:

• Fact Sheet: How to Hand Wash
• Video: How to Hand Wash with Soap and Water

Hand Sanitize:

• Fact Sheet: How to Hand Rub
• Video: How to hand rub with alcohol-based hand rub

Cover your cough

Learn how to cover your cough by visiting Public Health Ontario: Cover Your Cough (PDF).

Serious respiratory illnesses like the flu, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and whooping cough are spread by:

• Coughing or sneezing
• Touching contaminated surfaces, then bringing your hands to your face

To help stop the spread of germs:

• Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze
• If you don’t have a tissue, cough or sneeze into your upper sleeve – not your hands
• Put your used tissue in the wastebasket and wash your hands as soon as possible

Get immunized

Immunization is also called vaccination, needles and shots. Getting immunized is a safe and effective way of preventing many serious diseases that are contagious. See our immunization page.

Avoid close contact

Avoid close contact with people who are sick. When you are sick, keep your distance from others to protect them from getting sick too.

Stay home when you are sick

If possible, stay home from work, school and errands when you are sick. You will help prevent others from catching your illness.

Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth

Germs are often spread when a person touches something that is contaminated with germs and then touches his or her eyes, nose or mouth.

Physical Distancing

What is Physical Distancing?

In order to decrease transmission of infectious diseases such as COVID-19 in Renfrew County and District (RCD), Renfrew County and District Health Unit recommends that all residents of RCD practice physical distancing. Physical distancing involves taking steps to limit the number of people you come into close contact with. This will help to limit the spread in the community.

Physical distancing includes, but is not limited to:

• Talk to your supervisor, manager, or employer about the possibility of working from home where possible.
• Avoid sending children to daycare, if you are able to.
• Avoiding visits to Long-Term Care Homes, Retirement Homes, Supportive Housing, Hospices and other congregate care settings unless the visit is absolutely essential.
• Avoiding non-essential trips in the community.
• If you have to go into the community for an essential trip via taxi or rideshare, be sure to keep the windows down.
• If possible, limit or consider cancelling group gatherings.
• If you have meetings planned, consider doing them virtually instead of in person.
• Whenever possible, spend time outside and in settings where people can maintain a 1-2 metre (3-6 feet) distance from each other.

Please note: that these guidelines are not meant to say “you must stay in your home!”

You can still go outside to take a walk, go to the park, or walk your dog. If you need groceries, go to the store. We simply recommend that while outside you make sure to avoid crowds and maintain a distance of 1-2 metres (3-6 feet) from those around you.

More information about infection prevention and control:

• Government of Ontario: Protection from COVID‑19 and other respiratory illnesses

Please visit RCDHU’s page: Personal Protective Equipment.

Barry’s Bay Family Dental Centre

Initial IPAC Lapse Report

• Name of premise under investigation: Barry’s Bay Family Dental Centre
• Address of premise under investigation: 14 Martin St, Barry’s Bay, ON K0J 1B0
• Type of premise: Dental Clinic
• Date Board of Health became aware of IPAC lapse: January 03, 2023
• Date IPAC lapse was linked to the premise: January 06, 2023
• Source of IPAC lapse information: Complaint
• Date of initial and final report posting: January 16, 2023
• Date of initial report update(s): N/A
• Summary of IPAC lapse: Critical instruments placed in the sterilizer the night prior were removed from the unit the following morning without a sterilizing cycle being run. The cassettes were labelled with the same batch number at the daily Bowie-Dick test. Visual verification of chemical integrators did not take place and unsterilized instruments were used on clients.
• Referral to a regulatory college(s) (if applicable): Royal College of Dental Surgeons of Ontario notified. Ontario Ministry of Health notified.
• Brief description of the corrective measures required to address the lapse:
  1. Ensure all staff involved in reprocessing of instruments have appropriate training
  2. Modify record keeping to eliminate risk of batch numbers being used for more than one type of sterilizer cycle (i.e. instruments, Bowie-Dick test, Spore Tests)
  3. Ensure indicators are visually checked and validated before instruments are used
  4. Conduct self audits to ensure consistent adherence to Best Practices for Dental IPAC
  5. Dental Clinic required to notify affected clients
• Method used to correct identified deficiencies:
  • Site visit to observe practices and record keeping
  • Education provided at time of visit
  • Written recommendations provided
• Date order or directive issued: N/A
• Contact for further information: 613-732-3629 ext. 505 or environmentalhealth@rcdhu.com

Final IPAC Lapse Report

• Date of final report posting: February 10, 2023
• Brief description of the corrective measures required to address the lapse:
  1. Ensure all staff involved in reprocessing of instruments have appropriate training
  2. Modify record keeping to eliminate risk of batch numbers being used for more than one type of sterilizer cycle (i.e. instruments, Bowie-Dick test, Spore Tests)
  3. Ensure indicators are visually checked and validated before instruments are used
  4. Conduct self audits to ensure consistent adherence to Best Practices for Dental IPAC
  5. Dental Clinic required to notify affected clients
  6. Site visit conducted by public health inspectors to ensure recommendations were implemented for sterilizer record keeping and to obtain client phone contact information for those directly impacted
• Method used to correct identified deficiencies
  • Site visit to observe practices and record keeping
  • Education provided at time of visit
  • Written recommendations provided
  • A second site visit conducted to ensure recommendations implemented
  • Phone calls to all impacted clients to verify they had received written notice from Dental Clinic regarding potential exposure. All clients informed by letter from Dental Clinic.
• Date order or directive issued: N/A
• Contact for further information: 613-732-3629, ext. 505 or environmentalhealth@rcdhu.com

Personal service settings (PSS) are businesses that offer services such as tattooing, body and ear piercing, electrolysis, micro-pigmentation, micro-needling, manicures, pedicures, hairdressing and barbering, waxing, facials, and makeup application.

Public Health Inspectors enforce Ontario Regulation 136/18 and inspect PSS to improve infection prevention and control practices and to minimize the risk of blood-borne/other types of infections during the delivery of personal services. During their inspections, Public Health Inspectors use the Guide to Infection Prevention and Control in Personal Service Settings. This guide sets out standards for cleaning, disinfection and other practices to prevent the spread of disease and infections. Inspections of these PSS occur at least once a year. Public Health Inspectors are a valuable and knowledgeable resource that owners/operators and their staff can use to provide a safe environment for their clients.

To view personal service setting inspections, please visit Inspection Disclosure.

Opening a Personal Service Setting

All PSS, including those located in private homes or that provide mobile services, must be inspected and approved before opening. New operators of PSS must inform the health unit before opening their business by filling out the Notice of Intention to Operate a Personal Service Setting Premise form.

This form can be dropped off at RCDHU (141 Lake St. in Pembroke), emailed to environmentalhealth@rcdhu.com or faxed to 613-735-3067.

For more information about infection control in personal service settings, call 613-732-3629 extension 505 to speak to a Public Health Inspector.

Resources:

• RCDHU: How to Clean Instruments in Personal Service Settings
• RCDHU: Brief Guide for Opening a Personal Service Setting (March 2022)