An Update From Groupe Nordik

The health impacts of pseudomonas and staphylococcus (or staph) bacteria, which were detected only in the Källa pool, varies on a case-by-case basis. So far, we have largely received reports of rashes and ear infections. We encourage anyone who suspects they may have been impacted by this incident to contact their health professionals for medical advice.

Out of an abundance of caution, Groupe Nordik closed all pools at our facility even though these issues were isolated to the Källa pool. Similar conditions were never found in the other eight outdoor pools.

All other pools at Thermëa spa village in Whitby (and across Canada) operate with chlorine. Injection valves and chemicals for the other pools in Whitby have been carefully examined and there are no irregularities.

Prior to opening, all nine pools at the Thermëa spa village in Whitby were prepared for inspection based on the requirements of the Ontario Provincial Health Code. On October 14, we were informed by the Durham Public Health that pseudomonas and staphylococcus (or staph) bacteria were found in the Källa pool. Since October 14, we have been leading a comprehensive audit to understand what happened in the Källa pool. The results of that audit are posted above.

At all times, our top priority is the health, safety, and well-being of our guests. In this situation, this means that we are committed to supporting those who have been impacted by their visit to our facility. On November 2nd we communicated directly with impacted guests and updated them.

Despite our best intentions of acting and communicating with transparency, there was a delay in our initial outreach to impacted guests. For this, we are truly sorry.

Once we were notified by public health officials that bacteria were found in the one impacted pool on October 14, our first priority was shutting the pool and understanding the extent of the problem. We regret that this delayed communicating with impacted guests until October 19.

Since that time, we have contacted all guests who visited the Källa pool and we’ve asked impacted guests to come forward and notify us of any health complications that resulted from their visit to our facility.

We understand that it takes time for symptoms of such infections to both appear and be resolved. As a result, before providing details of how we intend to support impacted guests, we felt it necessary to provide them ample time to fully assess and evaluate how their experience to our facility has impacted their lives.

As of November 2, we have updated impacted guests.

We ask that anyone that has been impacted by this incident to contact us via info.whitby@thermea.com. We appreciate your patience as we are receiving a high number of calls and messages at this time. We can assure you that we take all matters of health and safety seriously.

For health concerns, we advise contacting healthcare professionals.

All our outdoor pools at the Thermëa spa village in Whitby are now open.

These pools were closed in October out of an abundance of caution as we investigated the incident in the Källa pool. Since then, our team has been working to implement new safety protocols that exceed anything required by health bodies provincially, and across North America. Durham Public Health has since performed new tests and gave us clearance to open December 1st.

Please note that the Källa pool is still undergoing tests and upgrades and will re-open shortly. We are in the process of upgrading our systems as outlined in our audit. We will update our website and social media pages with details shortly.

Thank you for your patience as we introduce an unprecedented level of safety for pools in North America. As a wellness creator, we remain committed to the health and safety of our everyone who uses our facilities.