Editor’s Note: A previous version of this story indicated it was a man in his 90s who died, however, Durham Region Health Department corrected that and said it is a woman in her 90s who passed away. This story has been updated to reflect that.
A woman in her 90s has become the first COVID-19-related death in the Durham Region amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The region also declared a state of emergency on Tuesday.
The Durham Region Health Department said the man was a resident at Hillsdale Terraces in Oshawa and had been recently confirmed positive for the virus.
Health officials said she passed away on Monday after being transferred from Hillsdale to Lakeridge Health Oshawa hospital.
“We extend our sincere condolences to this woman’s family and our thoughts are with them during this very sad time,” Dr. Robert Kyle, Durham Region Medical Officer of Health, said. “It is truly unfortunate that this woman’s’s tragic passing underscores the need for us to work together as a community to help stop the spread of COVID-19.
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On March 19, Hillsdale confirmed four residents were confirmed positive for coronavirus — two woman, 80 and 92 years old, and two men, 68 and 71 years old.
The woman who died is a fifth case.
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At the time, the facility said the residents were being treated at the facility and are in isolation.
A spokesperson from the region’s health department said there are also four additional tests pending for another unit in the home.
“During an outbreak situation testing is not done on all residents in a unit, as per Ministry of Health guideline,” a statement read. “Testing is only done on the first four symptomatic residents to establish the presence of the outbreak and given that all the residents are in isolation, further testing is not required.”
As of Tuesday morning, Ontario had 573 active cases with seven deaths and eight resolved.
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