Waterloo Public Health says 12 more people have tested positive for the novel coronavirus while also announcing that three more outbreaks have been declared at long-term care facilities in the region.
On Thursday morning, the department updated its website to say that a patient was infected at Revera – Forest Heights Long Term Care Centre in Kitchener.
It also said that a staff member had been infected at both St. Luke’s Place in Cambridge and The Village at University Gates in Waterloo.
On Wednesday morning, Waterloo Region’s acting medical officer of health Dr. Hsiu-Li Wang said the province’s chief medical officer of health had issued a directive that said that if a patient or staff member of a long-term care or retirement home tested positive for COVID-19, it was to be declared an outbreak.
There are two other outbreaks at such facilities in Kitchener.
Two residents of Highview Residences have tested positive for COVID-19, along with a staff member of Sunnyside Home in Kitchener.
Waterloo Public Health’s announcement of 12 more positive tests in the region brings the total to 129, with 31 of those involving health-care workers.
Twenty-seven of those cases have been cleared, while two men died earlier this week as a result of the virus.