The Northwood long-term care facility in Halifax announced Wednesday afternoon that it now has a total of 281 cases of the coronavirus.
Northwood president and CEO Janet Simm said 208 of those infected are residents, up nine from Tuesday. The facility also now has two new staff cases, bringing the total to 73.
Moreover, Simm announced that there has been another death connected to COVID-19 at Northwood Manor, bringing the total number of deaths at the facility to 22.
“Our thoughts are with their families… We will miss their beautiful faces,” Simm said at the facility’s virtual press briefing.
Simm also announced that 10 residents have now recovered, with another two to four being evaluated for recovery.
“A significant number of residents are recovering from this virus, which is very encouraging,” she said, adding that the facility’s staff are continuing their battle against the virus.
In the meantime, staff are getting much-needed help from health-care workers from Nova Scotia Health Authority, the IWK Health Centre and VON, a charitable organization that provides care at home, among other organizations.
Simm said the facility is also adding physiologists, speech specialists and medical students from Dalhousie to help residents in their recovery.
“We’ve had to recruit many new staff and their contribution have been valuable… But many of the new staff haven’t been able to secure temporary rent accommodation in the city,” she said.
Simm is urging landlords to offer short-term leases to these people coming from outside of Halifax to support Northwood staff during this challenging time.
She also thanked hotels for accommodating their “health-care heroes.”
“We’ve done a lot to manage this infection and had strict infection measures in place… reviewed by infection experts,” said Simm, who says she’s confident that everything is being done to make sure residents get the support they need.
Josie Ryan, the executive director of long-term care for Northwood, was asked at the press briefing if the facility could have done more to prevent the outbreak, to which she said no.
Ryan said the facility put measures in place early March, well before they were mandated.
She also said that they are continuing to test everyone, with staff having to be tested every Tuesday and Thursday.
On Tuesday, Northwood confirmed that they tested 66 people and have found four to five people were asymptomatic.
Ryan said Northwood will also be meeting with public health officials to determine how often the facility should be swabbing residents who tested negative.
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