76 new coronavirus cases in Ottawa, more than 500 in long-term care homes

Staff and residents of long-term care homes continue to bear the brunt of the coronavirus pandemic in Ottawa, with more than 500 cases now reported in local facilities.

Ottawa Public Health reported 76 new coronavirus cases across the city on Wednesday, bringing the local total to 1,297.

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Five more people have died in relation to the virus in the last 24 hours, raising the city’s pandemic death toll to 76.

The proportion of cases inside Ottawa’s long-term care facilities has been on the rise since last week when the Ontario government instructed local health units to conduct full testing of anyone working or living inside the homes, regardless of symptoms.

There are now 514 lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, in Ottawa’s long-term care homes.

From that figure, 357 are connected to residents and 157 are tied to staff members.

There have been 57 reported deaths in connection to the virus in Ottawa’s long-term care homes, all of them residents.

Outbreaks have hit some long-term care homes particularly hard, including Carlingview Manor, which has reported 132 cases of the virus.