Hamilton, Ont., reported another death connected to the COVID-19 pandemic on Thursday, bringing the total fatalities to 35.
Public health told Global News the deceased is an 87-year-old female from the community who passed away on Wednesday in hospital.
The city has three new cases of COVID-19 as of Thursday and a total of 664 cases overall since the pandemic began.
The city’s count of confirmed positive cases now stands at 657 plus seven probable cases.
The city has six institutional outbreaks at four retirement residences (Aberdeen Gardens, Alexander Place, Desmond & Peggy Little Retirement home, and The Rosslyn), one long-term care home (Macassa Lodge) and the COVID-19 unit at Hamilton General Hospital.
Hamilton hospitals say, in all, they have 61 COVID-19 patients in care units — Hamilton Health Sciences has 31 while St. Joseph’s hospitals say they have 30.
Four hundred-forty-four of the city’s 664 COVID-19 cases — or 66 per cent — have been resolved.
Following a virtual presentation to council on Hamilton’s COVID-19 Recovery Plan, the city’s emergency operations centre director told Global News case counts are still on the high side.
Paul Johnson said case counts are still higher than the EOC and public health would like and that ‘s why there were no timelines presented on Wednesday.
“A lot of this is driven by what the virus is doing. A lot of what the virus is doing is being driven by our behaviour,” said Johnson. “So those are variables that it’s very tough to put a timeframe to.”
Johnson said what happened in Toronto at Trinity Bellwoods Park on the weekend and a potential spike in province-wide cases was likely a contributing factor in the Province of Ontario decision to extend emergency orders through to June 9.
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“There was certainly a sense that maybe some things would start to loosen up. But I think what happened on the weekend, and people’s inability to understand that the physical distancing is really critical, had people go, ‘whoa — we’ve got to wait a little bit,'” Johnson said.
The EOC director believes Hamilton residents are still doing a great job abiding by the province’s safety orders and still have an opportunity to explore the community in spite of the restrictions.
“I would say if you do go somewhere and it’s a little more crowded than you’re comfortable with, then just go somewhere else and avoid those types of things,” said Johnson.
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Niagara Region reports 1 new COVID-19 case, 1 more death
Niagara public health reported another death in the community not connected to a long-term care or retirement home. Forty-eight of the region’s 58 deaths have been tied to nursing homes or retirement residences.
The region also reported one additional case of COVID-19 on Thursday. The region has a total of 635, with more than three-quarters of their total cases — 530 — resolved.
Niagara has eight current outbreaks at four long-term-care homes (Crescent Park Lodge in Fort Erie, Kilean Lodge in Grimsby, Royal Rose Place in Welland, Tufford Nursing Home in St. Catharines), three retirement homes (Albright Centre in Lincoln, West Park Health Centre in St. Catharines, Lundy Manor in Niagara Falls), and at one unit of the Greater Niagara General Hospital.
Haldimand-Norfolk reports no new COVID-19 cases
Haldimand-Norfolk Health Unit (HNHU) reported no new COVID-19 cases or deaths as of May 27. The region has 216 total lab-confirmed cases.
HNHU says 96 people have recovered since the pandemic began and 31 have died.
Halton Region reports 5 new COVID-19 cases
Halton Region reported five new cases of novel coronavirus on Thursday. The region now has 703 total cases, 628 confirmed positive cases and 75 probable.
There are no new deaths as of May 28. The region has 25 deaths tied to COVID-19 with 11 from a confirmed outbreak at an institution.
Public health says more than 79 per cent (555) of its cases have now been resolved.
Halton’s five outbreaks — all at long-term care homes — include West Oak Village, Wyndham Manor, Bennett Centre, Creek Way Village, and Extendicare Halton Hills.
An outbreak at a long-term care home, Brant Centre, ended on Wednesday. The home only reported a single case of COVID-19 since the announcement May 15.
Seventy-eight of the region’s cases are connected to residents or patients in an institutional outbreak.
Brant County reports no new COVID-19 cases
Brant County’s health unit (BCHU) reported no new cases of COVID-19 as of May 28.
The region has 108 confirmed cases with three people receiving care in a hospital.
The county has four deaths and 94 total resolved cases.
There are no institutional or community outbreaks as of Wednesday.
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. In situations where you can’t keep a safe distance from others, public health officials recommend the use of a non-medical face mask or covering to prevent spreading the respiratory droplets that can carry the virus.
For full COVID-19 coverage from Global News, click here.
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