TORONTO -- Residents of a Mississauga condominium are being tested for COVID-19 today after five cases of the coronavirus variant that originated in South Africa were discovered.
Peel Region Medical Officer of Health Dr. Lawrence Loh says that the widespread, voluntary testing of residents in the building at 385 Prince of Wales Drive is being done “out of an abundance of caution” due to concerns about the potential rapid spread of the variant.
Testing will be conducted floor by floor between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m.
“This testing is being done out of an abundance of caution. This is really an attempt for us to be absolutely sure that the variant is no longer detected within the condo community,” Loh said on Monday morning.
Loh said that Peel Public Health has been unable to find a travel link with any of the cases of the South African variant that have been discovered so far.
He said that the concern is that “there may be transmission occurring within the building itself.”
“We have conducted an infection prevention and control inspection (at the building) and are continuing our investigation to identify a linkage between the cases that have been detected,” he said.
One resident of the building who spoke with CP24 on Monday morning said that the presence of five variant cases within the building “is concerning and alarming.”
The resident said that the building does have a rule limiting the number of people in elevators to more than three but he said that it is often ignored and there is little enforcement from condominium management.
“This issue has just gotten out of control as a result of building and property management just failing to do their job,” he said.
Peel Public Health reported the first known case of the B.1.351 variant in the province earlier this month. It was detected in a Mississauga man who, officials said, likely acquired the infection in the community.
Peel Region also has 30 confirmed cases of the B.1.1.7 variant that first emerged in the United Kingdom.
