Hamilton, Ont., reported 15 more cases of COVID-19 on May 15, putting the city’s overall number of cases at 527 with 521 confirmed positive and six probable cases.
Public health has not yet disclosed whether any of the cases reported on Friday afternoon include a major outbreak at the Rosslyn retirement residence, disclosed by the city later in the day.
The home on King Street East has 62 cases of COVID-19 and one death, according to the city.
The deceased, a 70-year-old man, died in hospital on Thursday.
Fifty-two residents from The Rosslyn were transferred to hospital between Friday afternoon and early Saturday morning.
Hamilton Health Sciences says twenty-seven residents were taken to St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton and twenty-five residents were transferred to the Hamilton General Hospital.
Six staff and one physician from St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton (SJHH) and Hamilton Health Sciences (HHS) were deployed to the facility on Friday, assessing patients and transferring some to hospitals.
“This is a home we are very actively working with,” said Dr. Elizabeth Richardson.
“It is a situation, though, that’s continuing to evolve and the numbers are changing.”
The outbreak has been aggravated by low staffing problems, according to the city’s emergency operations centre (EOC).
EOC director Paul Johnson said the shortage was due to staff who tested positive and are now taking time off plus the generally low levels provider organizations have keeping staff at homes that need it.
“I can tell you we’ve got lots of people on site ensuring the proper care is there. The challenge, of course, is in a 24/7 operation with vulnerable individuals,” Johnson said.
As of Friday, the city has 11 outbreaks at nine long-term care homes (Arbour Creek, Blackadar Continuing Care, Dundurn Place Care Centre, Extendicare Hamilton, Grace Villa, Heritage Green, Idlewyld Manor, Regina Gardens, and Wentworth Lodge) and two retirement residences (The Rosslyn, and The Village of Wentworth Heights).
Public health says mass testing in long-term care homes in the city is now complete. As of Wednesday, just over 4,000 staff workers were tested and 3,613 residents were tested.
Hamilton hospitals say, in all, they have 19 COVID-19 patients in care units — nine at Hamilton Health Sciences and 10 at St. Joseph’s hospitals.
The city has 26 deaths connected to COVID-19 as of May 15.
Three hundred-seventy-five of the city’s 527 COVID-19 cases — or 71 per cent — have been resolved.
Niagara Region reports 3 new COVID-19 cases, 1 death
Niagara Region reported three new COVID-19 cases on Friday. The region has a total of 578, with almost three-quarters of their total cases — 425 — resolved, according to public health.
The region had one new death in hospital on Thursday morning. Forty-five of the region’s 56 deaths have been connected to long-term care homes or retirement residences.
The region has five outbreaks with two at hospitals: the Intensive Care Unit of St. Catharines General and the Trillium-Rainbow unit at Greater Niagara General.
The other three outbreaks are at two long-term-care homes (Royal Rose Place) and two retirement homes (Lundy Manor in Niagara Falls and Seasons in Welland).
Haldimand-Norfolk 1 new COVID-19 case
Haldimand-Norfolk Health Unit (HNHU) reported no news COVID-19 cases on Friday. The region has 204 lab-confirmed cases as of May 15.
The region’s total number of reported deaths remains at 30.
The county is reporting another positive case at a retirement home, Cedar Crossing. HNHU says the infected person is a resident of the facility. The unit is still awaiting further test results from staff and other residents.
Haldimand-Norfolk also has current outbreaks at Parkview Meadows Christian retirement village in Townsend, and an ongoing outbreak at Anson Place care centre, to which 27 of the region’s 30 deaths are connected.
HNHU says 78 people have recovered since the pandemic began.
Halton Region reports 18 new COVID-19 cases
Halton Region reported 18 new cases of novel coronavirus on Friday. The region now has 618 total cases with 550 confirmed positive cases and 68 probable ones.
Public health says 461 cases have now been resolved.
The region has 25 deaths tied to COVID-19 with 11 connected to a confirmed outbreak at an institution.
Halton has two outbreaks in the region at Hampton Terrace retirement home and another at Waterford LTC as of Thursday.
Seventy-six of the region’s cases have been connected to residents or patients in an institutional outbreak.
No new cases of COVID-19 in Brant County
Brant County’s health unit reported no new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday. The region holds at 102 confirmed cases with six people hospitalized as of May 14.
The county has no outbreaks as of Friday with the last at Briarwood Gardens retirement home declared over on Wednesday.
The county’s medical officer of health, Dr. Elizabeth Urbantke, says staff and residents at all retirement homes were tested this past week and results are expected by the middle of next week.
The region has had three deaths and 90 resolved cases.
Questions about COVID-19? Here are some things you need to know:
Symptoms can include fever, cough and difficulty breathing — very similar to a cold or flu. Some people can develop a more severe illness. People most at risk of this include older adults and people with severe chronic medical conditions like heart, lung or kidney disease. If you develop symptoms, contact public health authorities.
To prevent the virus from spreading, experts recommend frequent handwashing and coughing into your sleeve. They also recommend minimizing contact with others, staying home as much as possible and maintaining a distance of two metres from other people if you go out.
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