Grand Bank / Fortune Ambulance Service Inc.
20 Farmers Hill Road A0E 1W0 Grand Bank, NL, Canada

Message to Residents COVID-19 Update November 24, 2020 The Town was made aware this afternoon in conversation with Eastern Health Officials that there is anothe...r case of Covid-19 within the community. This case originates from the first group of individuals that contacted the virus, and there is NO concern with community spread. Public Health employees have this case well in hand, and the person is getting the necessary help from community health. All contact tracing and testing has now been completed by Eastern Health in Grand Bank. This is good news, so hopefully the situation will improve in our community for the long term. The Town continues to encourage residents to wear a mask, avoid crowds, keep physical distancing, and wash or sanitize your hands frequently. By following those public health measures we are protecting ourselves, others and the community at large. Together, we can beat COVID-19!! Eastern Health would like to remind our citizens of the following guidelines in respect to Covid-19: 1. If a person is identified as a close contact of a COVID-19 case they are referred for testing and told to self-isolate for 14 days after their last contact with the case. If their test result is negative, the contact must continue to stay in isolation for 14 days. Close contacts are not permitted to be released from self-isolation because they may still develop COVID-19 for up to 14 days from their last contact with the case. 2. For other individuals who were not identified as close contacts of a positive COVID-19 case, it is important to monitor for symptoms and call 811 if symptoms develop and then follow the advice of public health. 3. All positive COVID-19 cases are monitored by public health. Public health will advise each case when they are recovered from COVID-19 and when they can be released from isolation. This is usually 10 days after the date of symptom on-set, however the recovery of each case will vary depending on the time their symptoms resolve. Eastern Health expresses deep gratitude to the residents of the Town of Grand Bank for their cooperation during this time. The support and understanding of the community has been vital to our ability to control this virus and we truly appreciate your support. Together, we can beat this! We remind our citizens to call the Public Health office at 832-1602 if they have any questions or concerns. If anyone is symptomatic they are reminded to call 811. Eastern Health is committed to providing appropriate resources to respond and contain this virus in the community. Please notify your friends and neighbours who do not have e-mail

The phone lines are working properly again at the Dr. S. Beckley Health Center but please remember to dial 911 if you require an ambulance.

We would like to inform you that we will not be going ahead with our Annual "Pack the Back" program this year due the the current Covid19 outbreak in our area. We have had lots of success in past years helping those less fortunate at Christmas and we look forward to it again next year. If you would like to help out our local Food Bank, please visit the link below and enter the contest. You could be selected to win either a $50,000.00 donation to a local food bank or one of 10... $500.00 shopping spree's. Again, we are sorry we won't be continuing our "Pack the Back" program but due to an abundance of caution, we feel it's best to cancel this year https://1.shortstack.com/P5gXL7

Message to Residents COVID-19 Update November 21, 2020 The Town has just completed their daily briefing with Eastern Health Officials, and can confirm there is ...one (1) new case in our community, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to six (6). The new case is a male tenant at the Blue Crest Cottages, and over the age of 70. Contact tracing and testing is still on-going, and it normally takes approximately 24 hours before test results are known. The Town, as always, is encouraging all residents to wear a mask, unless of course, there is a medical reason not to, please avoid large crowds at all costs, this is not the time to be going out and having public events, keep physical distancing and wash or sanitize your hands frequently. Community services have been arranged for the Blue Crest Cottages to support all tenants in isolation. This includes 2 LPNs who will work shifts to provide daily nursing oversight to ensure all tenants are getting their needs met. The LPNs will be the frontline staff liaison between community supports, public health and hospital services. Additionally, Eastern Health has contracted with a Home Care Agency to provide care to specific tenants that require additional care right now. These home care workers and LPNs are all trained and will be wearing PPE so they can be safe in carrying out their duties. Eastern Health staff will also be providing ongoing education and support from Infection Prevention and Control team. Eastern Health Officials are working tirelessly on the COVID-19 outbreak. Their workers at the local health care clinic, community health nurses, the ambulance team, the hospital at Burin, provincial officials, our MHA and the Town are all doing their utmost to control and contain this virus. We commend our residents for following all the public health measures, we are all on the same team and our objective is clear, we have to beat this virus, and we will. The Town asks for patience, understanding and kindness as we continue the fight to make our Town safe and healthy for all residents. Additionally, the public are reminded to call the Public Health office at 832-1602 if they have any questions or concerns. If anyone is symptomatic they are reminded to call 811. Eastern Health is committed to providing appropriate resources to respond and contain this virus in the community. Please notify your friends and neighbours who do not have e-mail

Message to Residents COVID-19 The Town has been in conversation with Eastern Health officials again today, November 20, 2020 regarding the Covid-19 outbreak i...n the community. Eastern Health is reporting that there is another confirmed case of Covid-19 in Grand Bank, bringing the total number of cases to five (5). Two of these cases are tenants of Blue Crest Cottages and three reside in the local community. Public Health continues to investigate and are completing contact tracing. Based on the outcome of this contact tracing, further individuals have been told to isolate and some have also been referred for testing. Most of the testing has either been via a home visit offered by the public health nurses or through the drive thru clinic in Burin. Based on the volume of testing, Eastern Health will explore options for Grand Bank residents to be tested at the Public Health offices, if required. They are also stating there is still no evidence of community spread. The Town understands that people may be anxious, nervous, or stressed, and these are all normal reactions given the virus we are dealing with. However, citizens can be assured that the Health Care professionals at Eastern Health are taking an abundance of caution to ensure our people and the community stays healthy and safe. Eastern Health is committed to putting all resources necessary in the community to deal with this outbreak of Covid-19, including contact tracing, testing and investigation throughout the weekend. The Town is encouraging its residents to remain calm, patient, and understanding as Eastern Health works to contain and control this virus. Please be careful on the rumors, since they only bring more grief and pain to those who find this situation very unsettling under normal circumstances. As always, please follow all the public health measures that are currently in place, and be very careful and aware of your surroundings at all times. We have to be more vigilant now than ever!! We will get through this situation, and there is light at the end of the tunnel, we just have to hang in there and do things right. Additionally, the public are reminded to call the Public Health office at 832-1602 if they have any questions or concerns. If anyone is symptomatic they are reminded to call 811. Eastern Health is committed to providing appropriate resources to respond and contain this virus in the community. Please notify your friends and neighbours who do not have e-mail

Message from Eastern Health:

Cases of Covid-19 are surging in Canada and worldwide, and citizens need to double down on public health care measures that have been implemented by the provinc...e. Simply by wearing a mask, avoiding crowds, keeping a physical distance, washing hands frequently and sanitizing when possible can go a long ways in protecting oneself and others. As the Christmas holidays and cooler months approach, we have to be very careful in conducting all aspects of our daily activities. No one is immune from this virus, it can strike anyone anywhere at anytime. No one chooses to have this virus, and for those who do, their lives can be very stressful, difficult and upsetting. We should not add to those pressures by saying unkind words, making insensitive comments or being judgmental. We are in this together, and we will get out of it together by doing our part to protect ourselves and each other. In recent days we have heard of two vaccines whose trial results have been very promising, encouraging and effective. There is still a ways to go before final approval is given for those vaccines, so we just have to hang in there a bit longer. Please find attached, a News Release from Eastern Health with respect to Covid-19. The Town will provide its citizens with updates as they are received from Eastern Health. Health Care professionals in the community are currently taking all necessary precautions to ensure the community and its citizens are safe, and the virus is contained. Please be patient as they carry out their work. From all Council and Staff, please follow all public health measures, stay safe, and be kind to one another. Mayor Rex

Hope everyone prepares for this...it has the potential to be just as bad as hurricane Igor. People should prepare for extended periods of power outages, road washouts which can cause disruptions to the delivery of food, gasoline and other essential items. Also, be sure to check on vulnerable family and friends...stay safe everyone.

Just a reminder to all motorist that our kids are back to school today, keep an extra eye open for them as they have lots of things on their minds. This is a different return to school with Covid19 rules, the distraction of wearing a mask and just trying to get back into the classroom. Be careful, best of luck to the kids, teachers and parents!