Another COVID-19 outbreak declared at Kitchener hospital

St. Mary’s General Hospital says a COVID-19 outbreak has been declared on its seventh floor after two patients tested positive for the coronavirus.

The Kitchener hospital has closed the floor to new admissions while care partner visits have also been suspended.

“We are working with our teams across the hospital to actively manage this outbreak as well as the COVID-19 outbreak on our 3 East Unit,” hospital president Lee Fairclough said in a statement. “Outbreaks do translate to further pressure on capacity.”

The outbreak in 3 East Unit was declared on Sunday after two patients and one staff member tested positive for COVID-19.

Over at Grand River Hospital, there are also currently two active outbreaks.

2:54 Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine delay will affect Ontario immunization plan

Kitchener’s other hospital currently has active outbreaks in a mental health unit and a children’s unit.

Get weekly health news

Receive the latest medical news and health information delivered to you every Sunday.

Sign up for weekly health newsletter Sign Up

By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.

These are four of the 38 active outbreaks which are currently underway in the region, according to Waterloo Public Health.

Two more residents of Chartwell Westmount Long Term Care have suffered COVID-19-related deaths, according to the agency.

The Kitchener home has seen six residents die while 62 residents and 41 staff members have tested positive for the coronavirus since an outbreak was declared on Dec. 27.

The death toll in the region now stands at 184.

Waterloo Public Health said another 125 people have tested positive for the coronavirus, raising the total number of cases to 8,702.

Another 117 people were also cleared of the virus, lifting the total number of resolved cases to 7,659.

The area now has 857 active COVID-19 cases, with 48 people currently being in area hospitals as a result of the virus.

Elsewhere, Ontario is reporting 2,632 new cases of the coronavirus on Thursday, bringing the provincial total to 247,564.

Thursday’s case count is slightly lower than Wednesday’s which saw 2,655 new infections. On Tuesday, 1,913 cases were recorded — although the government said cases were likely underreported that day due to technical issues from Toronto Public Health.

The government noted that the technical issues from Toronto Public Health are now resolved, with 102 cases added to Thursday’s total.

The death toll in the province has risen to 5,614 after 46 more deaths were reported.

–With files from Global News’ Gabby Rodrigues