Another case of COVID-19 has been reported at Fairhaven long-term care in Peterborough.
Dr. Rosana Salvaterra, medical officer of health for Peterborough Public Health, revealed the new case during Wednesday’s noontime media conference at the health unit.
Since the outbreak was declared on Oct. 31 when a caregiver (not a direct employee) tested positive, two residents have died of COVID-19. There are currently 22 cases linked to the outbreak with 18 active — 14 residents and four staff members.
“I commend the incredible staff who are working tirelessly to control the outbreak,” Salvaterra said.
Fairhaven executive director Lionel Towns says one resident’s case was declared resolved early Wednesday but another resident tested positive on Tuesday evening.
The resident lived on Westview 2 — the same area for all other cases, Towns noted.
He said since the outbreak, residents have been isolating in their rooms so it’s a “high likelihood” that the new case was linked to exposure to asymptomatic positive individuals on Westview 2.
He also said several residents are expected to be declared resolved later this week if they remain symptom-free.
Towns says the key to preventing outbreaks at other long-term care and retirement homes is a community-wide effort to follow public health directions.
“It’s a virus I don’t believe is very hard to kill but painfully easy to spread,” he said.
Towns also said staffing is the Dutton Road facility’s biggest issue but with a full roster, they are also receiving assistance from the Peterborough Regional Health Centre and employee assistance plans for any other personnel needs.
He noted staff have gone from being frustrated to “more resolved” to address the outbreak, attributing cohorting of staff and residents as a key to preventing further spread.
“These people are pioneers, and the courage and the effort is unbelievable,” Towns said. “They’re tired; they’re frustrated. We went through the first wave without any cases and here we are now. Circumstances can change — it changes on a dime.
“They’ve gone from maybe being frustrated to being more resolved, steely-eyed — to use a colloquial term, ‘they’ve got a lot left in the tank’ and so do I.”
Peterborough-Kawartha MP Maryam Monsef thanked Towns and the staff for their commitment said the residents’ deaths and the outbreak is a “grief shared by all of us.”
“We are all here to support you,” Monsef said.
— More to come.