There are no active COVID-19 resident cases at Roberta Place long-term care home in Barrie, Ont., as of Monday, which marks one month since the devastating coronavirus outbreak was declared by the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit.
In an email, a Roberta Place spokesperson confirmed all 129 of the home’s residents tested positive for the novel coronavirus since the outbreak was declared on Jan. 8. Sixty-nine of those residents have passed away.
Meanwhile, 105 staff members have tested positive for COVID-19, 13 of which are active cases
In an email Monday, Roberta Place spokesperson Stephanie Barber confirmed there have been no new resident deaths since Feb. 2 and no new resident coronavirus cases since Jan. 27.
“While there appears to be an increase in these numbers, these counts are not net new cases,” Barber wrote.
“This is a direct result of the technical case definition for the inclusion of ‘probable’ cases as of Friday, Feb. 5, 2021 per the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit.”
Several weeks ago, the Simcoe Muskoka health unit confirmed the B.1.1.7. variant, which was originally discovered in the U.K. and is believed to be up to 70 per cent more contagious than earlier novel coronavirus strains, played a role in the rapid spread of COVID-19 infection at Roberta Place.
Officials have said it’s unclear exactly how the variant made its way into Roberta Place but noted a staff member came into close contact with someone who had travelled internationally and tested positive for COVID-19.
Since the outbreak, families have launched a proposed class-action lawsuit that alleges “gross negligence” and “breach of fiduciary duty” in a statement of claim. None of the allegations have been proven in court.
Since then, Roberta Place and Jarlette Health Services have notified of their intent to defend against the lawsuit.
In an Ontario Ministry of Long-Term Care report dated Jan. 18, an inspector found staff and COVID-19-positive residents weren’t properly cohorted. The inspector also reported seeing some COVID-19-positive residents who were out of isolation, touching high-touch surfaces and coming into close contact with other residents.