West Lake Terrace Administrator Mary Lynn Lester learned late Tuesday a preliminary report by Ontario’s commissioner of public health and the chief medical officer of health stated the resident’s death was “not thought to be related to SARS.” Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, a strain of pneumonia, has killed 10 people in Ontario and forced screenings and restrictions at hospitals and long-term care homes across the province.

While staff at West Lake Terrace is still donning gloves, masks and gowns until getting the clear from the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, the tension has eased at the home.

“That first report is very, very nice to hear,” says Mary Lynn.

“Everybody’s mood has just elevated.”

“It’s all about vigilance and hard-working staff. They were just terrified when they were put into quarantine.”

Staff was first required to dress in gowns, gloves and masks following the isolation of a resident who was a patient at Scarborough Grace Hospital, one of the infected acute-care sites in the province. They are permitted to go home but have to wear a mask around their family members and can’t sleep in the same bed as their partners or children.

The resident came down with a slight fever on the 12th day following her transfer to West Lake. One of the symptoms of SARS is a fever higher than 38 C. There wasn’t an initial cause for concern because the woman’s temperature was very low-grade and went away without medication, says Mary Lynn. “The doctors and public health thought it was (part of her disease),” the administrator says. “Elderly people in long-term care are prone to respiratory problems.”

The resident died April 2. Following her death, her daughter, began exhibiting possible symptoms of SARS. When she went to her local hospital and staff learned her mother had been at Scarborough Grace Hospital, it triggered a precautionary reaction, Mary Lynn says.

Ontario’s commissioner of public health and the chief medical officer of health began investigating if the resident’s death was linked to SARS. Mary Lynn doesn’t know when staff will be allowed to remove the protective clothing.

Willows Estate in Aurora experienced a similar scare last week.

All OMNI homes have been operating in shut-down mode since early April.