Twenty-three more people in Waterloo Region have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, raising the total number of cases to 731, according to Waterloo Public Health.
The agency says that one more resident of peoplecare AR Goudie has died, raising the total number of COVID-19-related deaths in the region to 67. Fifty-five of those deaths have involved residents of retirement or long-term care homes.
New outbreaks were reported at four new homes on Wednesday including a second outbreak at Village at University Gates in Waterloo where a staff member tested positive.
Outbreaks among staff were also reported at Sunbeam Lodge in Kitchener and Stirling Heights in Cambridge while a resident of Chartwell Elmira has also tested positive.
Outbreaks were declared over at Marian Residence in Cambridge and Highview Residences in Kitchener meaning there are now active outbreaks at a dozen care homes throughout the region.
Out of the 731 positive tests for the coronavirus, 429 (or 60 per cent) have been attributed to the homes while Public Health now lists 167 through community contact while the remainder have either come through close contact (88) or travel (37).
The community contact number dropped by three, likely because they have now discovered where the contact came from.
The community transmission category is a catch-all for anyone who is not linked to the other three categories.
“If they don’t fall into one of those other three categories, then they’re considered community transmission,” Dr. Hsiu-Li Wang, the Region of Waterloo’s acting medical officer of health, explained Monday.
Waterloo Public Health provides a daily update based upon the totals accumulated at 7 p.m. the previous evening.
In Wednesday’s update, the agency says that 217 people have now been cleared of the virus.
Ontario reported 347 new cases of the novel coronavirus, the lowest single-day increase in more than three weeks, bringing the provincial total to 15,728 cases.
The death toll across the province has risen to 996 as 45 more deaths were reported.
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