Coronavirus: COVID-19 outbreak at Oshawa long-term care home worsens

An Oshawa long-term care home is working to contain a coronavirus outbreak that has left eight residents infected and one woman dead as of Thursday, according to Durham Region Health Department (DRHD).

Hillsdale Terraces Long-Term Care home said there are also 28 residents in isolation across three units and that a number of COVID-19 test results are pending.

However, health officials said not all 28 residents are being tested.

“During an outbreak situation testing is not done on all residents in a unit, as per Ministry of Health guidelines,” Glendene Collins with the DRHD said. “Testing is only done on the first few symptomatic residents in a unit to establish the presence of the outbreak and given that all the residents are in isolation, further testing is not required.”

On March 19, the care home first reported four residents, two women aged 80 and 92 and two men, aged 68 and 71, tested positive for the virus.

On Wednesday, the home confirmed a woman in her 90s was transferred to Lakeridge Health Oshawa hospital where she died on March 23. She tested positive for the virus on the same day she died.

2:23 Resident at Oshawa long-term care facility dies from COVID-19

DRHD said it is currently monitoring 37 cases of COVID-19 in the region.

As of Thursday morning, Ontario had 837 active coronavirus cases. Thirteen people have died and eight cases have been resolved.