UPPER ONSLOW, N.S. — After informing the public that an employee at RiverBreeze Fear Farm had tested positive for COVID-19, owner Jim Lorraine called a news conference Monday morning to say the individual had lied.
An employee who claimed to have tested positive for COVID-19 at RiverBreeze Fear Farm fabricated their story, says owner Jim Lorraine.
The individual, whose identity has not been released, confessed in a text Sunday evening that they had been feeling unwell when a stranger in a grocery store told them they had signs of COVID and to inform people they had been in contact with, Lorraine said, during a heartfelt and emotional press conference Monday morning.
On the afternoon of Nov. 3, the person emailed RiverBreeze stating they had tested positive for COVID-19 and asked that employees of the Fear Farm be told. Believing the employee, who had worked as a parking attendant at the Fear Farm, Lorraine contacted Public Health, alerted their workers and went public on Facebook.
On Wednesday, Public Health started investigating RiverBreeze’s post and requested the individual’s name and contact information from Lorraine, which were provided. That afternoon Public Health told RiverBreeze there was no COVID exposure risk. Lorraine says Public Health informed them on Friday that their investigation was complete. Meanwhile, RiverBreeze shared updates on their post.
Lorraine said he first became suspicious Friday afternoon when the individual claimed Public Health lost its original test, conducted at an unidentified walk-in clinic, and that they had to be re-tested. Testing is conducted at assessment centres, not walk-in clinics. On Saturday, the person claimed that the second test was negative.
During a phone call Sunday afternoon, the individual changed their story several times – first being unable to state the location of the walk-in clinic, secondly saying a stranger in a grocery store offered to give them a COVID test outside on the sidewalk, then lastly that the test happened at a hospital on the South Shore. Lorraine says he made his personal feelings clear as well as telling the person he did not believe them and demanded that the individual start telling the truth. However, the individual did not come clean about his earlier lies until he sent Lorraine a text message about 5:30 Sunday evening.
'As an employer, I am not allowed to ask a staff member for verification or proof from a doctor of their testing'
During the news conference, Lorraine - who at one point became emotional - apologized to his family, customers, employees and overworked Public Health staff for the misinformation. He says his family received threats, some staff members went home in tears while other employees lost work at other jobs, even though they were never a risk.
"To our staff, I know many of you endured a lot of personal pain and I will never be able to communicate how sorry I am for that," Lorraine read from a prepared statement.
"To the person who sent threats to our family, I have a thick skin when it comes to doing what I think is right and cannot be knocked off course by people such as yourself. I want you to consider your actions. In the midst of a global pandemic, information sharing is key to keeping numbers low and safe. When you send out threats to people who may not have the same resolve as I do, you intimidate them inito remaining quiet."
Lorraine said he felt like he was "acting in an appropriate manner based on the information that I was given at that time," when he released his orginal post on social media while Public Health conducted its investigation.
"As an employer, I am not allowed to ask a staff member for verification or proof from a doctor of their testing," he said, adding that never "... in my wildest dreams" did he think someone would make up a false story claiming they had COVID.
Lorraine said he does not know why the person lied.
"I am absolutely disgusted, I am absolutely floored," he said. “Never in my life have I ever had to deal with something as shallow and callous is this. What was on this person's mind is beyond me," he said, adding the individual will never be welcomed back to the farm, either as an employee or as a visitor.
Public Health response
In response to media inquiries after Lorraine's statement, Public Health senior media adviser Carla Adams released the following information.
"If a Public Health investigation concludes that a potential exposure to COVID-19 has occurred, Public Health may contact a business or organization to help with the investigation. In some cases, Public Health may issue a press release to identify a place where a potential exposure took place," she said.
"The decision to send out a release is made based on information gathered to help assess risk to the public, and in scenarios where we can alert people who may have been exposed to urge them to monitor for symptoms, and to help Public Health identify potential close contacts and cases that may be connected."
Adams said if an investigation determines a business should be contacted, an attempt to do so is made right away.
Regarding the RiverBreeze case, she said Public Health did conduct an investigation in relation to the information shared by Lorraine and "we can confirm there are no positive cases associated with Riverbreeze Farms.
"We know it can be difficult when people are hearing things about different situations," she said. "COVID-19 has caused a lot of stress and fear. It’s understandable. However, please know that Public Health takes this work very seriously and containing and managing this disease – and protecting the health of Nova Scotians – is our priority and focus. We will share information when it’s helpful to Nova Scotians and our investigations."
