Whitby spa in middle of $5M lawsuit after staph contamination to reopen on Thursday

An Ontario spa in the middle of a $5 million lawsuit filed after guests complained of health issues arising from a contaminated pool will reopen on Thursday.

Officials with Thermëa Spa Village confirmed in a social media post that its eight outdoor pools would be open to the public after being forced to close last month due to a health hazard.

“These pools were closed in October out of an abundance of caution as we investigated the incident in the Källa pool,” reads a post on Instagram.

“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 for Dec. 1.”

In mid-November, 72 plaintiffs filed a civil lawsuit seeking $5 million in damages from the Ontario spa, alleging they’ve suffered adverse health effects, including severe skin rashes, ear infections, and loss of hearing after using the spa’s pools.

The spa noted that the one pool is still undergoing tests and is expected to reopen soon.

RELATED: 28 guests seek damages from Whitby spa after experiencing ear, skin infections

“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,” the social media post read.

“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 everyone who uses our facilities.”

 

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A post shared by Thermëa spa village | Whitby (@thermeawhitby)

The lawsuit names 11 defendants, including the spa, two of its managers and the corporation that runs it, along with the Regional Municipality of Durham and unidentified inspectors and maintenance workers.

Lawyer Justin Linden told CityNews last month that 45 people experienced wide-ranging symptoms after attending the Whitby, Ont. spa. Linden said many of his clients had experienced skin outbreaks, ear infections, hearing loss and other symptoms.

“You would think in the age we’re in when health and safety was front and centre, this spa would have made abundant efforts to ensure it was safe to their customers and communicate problems immediately,” Linden said.

Groupe Nordik, which runs the spa, has said that the spa had traced the source of the problem to malfunctioning UV lamps and disinfectant.

Health inspection results on Durham Public Health’s website dated Oct. 14 indicated the Källa Pool at Thermëa Spa Village was ordered closed. It said the pool may be a health hazard, and the operator failed to ensure the public pool was “free from every serious condition.”

Thermëa Spa Village can accommodate 700 people. Groupe Nordik plans to develop ten spas across North America by 2027.

With files from Maan Alhmidi of The Canadian Press