Robert Hache, president and vice-chancellor of Laurentian University, addresses the media at a press conference at the university in Sudbury, Ont. on Wednesday March 11, 2020. All classes at the university were suspended at noon on Wednesday because of the first confirmed case of COVID-19 in the Sudbury area, and the connection the person concerned has to the university campus. All classes will now be moved to online delivery until further notice.
On the same day the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic – which means the virus has caused sustained outbreaks in multiple regions of the world – Sudbury was battling its first case of the infection.
Public Health Sudbury and Districts announced late Tuesday evening coronavirus has made its way to the Nickel City.
A man in his 50s presented himself to the emergency department at Health Sciences North on March 7, the health unit said in a release. It was determined he was infected with coronavirus. The man had previously attended the annual conference of the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada in Toronto on March 2-3. More than 25,000 delegates from 130 counties were at the gathering, which was held at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.
Greg Rickford, the minister of energy, northern development and mines, as well as Indigenous affairs, confirmed to reporters at Queen’s Park the man is an employee of the Ministry of Northern Development and Mines. Its offices are at the Willet Green Miller Centre on Ramsey Lake Road. The Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation also has an office at the centre.
Wednesday, a note on the doors of the Willet Green Miller Centre indicated it was closed as a precaution against COVID-19 and that “detailed cleaning” was underway.
In response, Laurentian University announced Wednesday it was suspending classes for the day and moving all classes online until further notice. It is just a precaution, as Robert Hache, president of the university, said Patient X has a relationship with LU.
Hache said the university enjoys a “close collaboration” with some of the tenants of the Willet Green Miller Centre. He also noted the university will likely suspend all activities through the weekend.
“There would have been opportunities for our students and faculty to interact with that individual, and then with other members of the community,” Hache said. “We’re using an abundance of caution. I think the most important thing for us and the counsel we received from public health is to minimize large public gatherings.”
Hache said about 100 people from Laurentian University participated in PDAC, including 60 students. To date, none have self-quarantined or presented with symptoms.
“We are also suspending in-person activities such as laboratories,” the university said Wednesday. “While the university will remain open, events that were planned to take place on campus between now and March 13 are cancelled. We are considering the cancellation of further events and will communicate further shortly. With a known-case of the virus in our community, we aim to take proactive measures to prevent the spread of this illness. We understand that changes in our day-to-day operations will create challenges and disruptions; however, we believe the risk of not taking action is of greater concern to our community.”
Brad Parkes, LU’s emergency manager, said students who live on campus will remain in residence.
“We will be monitoring through our staff the health of the students and through our health services, we will be triaging them to health care should we need to, but right now it is residence life as usual,” he said.
While the campus remains open and classes at Cambrian College “are proceeding as scheduled,” the college did announce Wednesday afternoon it was cancelling the Student Innovation Challenge, which was to take place Thursday.
“Out of an abundance of precaution and in an effort to avoid the inadvertent transmission of COVID-19, Cambrian College has initiated a number of proactive measures to help minimize the spread of the virus,” the college announced. “As a result of these measures, we are cancelling tomorrow’s Cambrian Student Innovation Challenge. We apologize for any inconvenience that this may cause and appreciate your support as we work together as a community to contain the impact of COVID-19.”
Eleven employees from Cambrian College attended PDAC.
“In light of today’s news regarding the first case of COVID-19 in Sudbury being connected to PDAC, these employees have placed themselves in voluntary self-isolation as a precaution,” Dan Lessard, a spokesperson for the college, said.
Ronan Le Guern, a spokesperson for College Boreal, said classes have not been cancelled there, but they continue to monitor the situation. To date, no one at Boreal has presented with symptoms, despite the fact seven staff members attended PDAC.
“Classes haven’t been cancelled at the college or anywhere else in the college system,” Le Guern said. “We continue to monitor this rapidly-evolving situation closely and will update our response accordingly. (The staff were) informed this morning about the case and all preventively accepted to self-isolate themselves at home. None of them show symptoms of COVID-19.”
If Boreal decides to shutter, Le Guern advised the public to look to the college’s website for up-to-date information.
“College Boreal hasn’t taken the decision to close. If such a decision were to be taken, the duration of the closure would depend on the evolution of the epidemic,” he said. “Our students would be informed through regular internal channels and the public through external channels. Our website would be the best place to start for anyone looking for information.”
For more information on COVID-19 and to learn how to minimize risk to yourself and those you love, go to phsd.ca.
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