COVID-19: Outbreaks lifted at Severn Court Student Residence, Trent University’s Champlain College in Peterborough

The deadly outbreak at Severn Court Student Residence and a linked outbreak at Trent University‘s Champlain College student residence in Peterborough were both declared over on Wednesday, according to the region’s health unit.

The outbreak declared on Feb. 20 at privately-operated Severn Court in the city’s west end claimed the life of a man on March 15 and saw up to 59 cases — all variant of concern cases. The outbreak was a major factor that placed Peterborough Public Health’s jurisdiction under “red control” zone under the provincial COVID-19 response framework on March 8.

The health unit said the outbreak declared March 4 at Champlain College was linked to the Severn Court outbreak. Both facilities were placed under Section 22 orders, requiring all residents to quarantine for up to two weeks.

Severn Court primarily serves Fleming College and Trent University students and the outbreak was linked to large parties, the health unit has reported. The individual who died did not attend the gatherings.

In its daily COVID tracker update at 4:15 p.m., Peterborough Public Health reported seven new cases of COVID-19 and one less variant of concern cases at 165. The first confirmed variant of concern was reported on Feb. 23.

A presumed variant is defined as having tested positive for a mutation, but it requires further genomic sequencing to determine its specific strain, the health unit notes. Testing at the Public Health Ontario labs generally takes seven to 14 days. Once a strain is identified, it is then placed on the tracker’s “confirmed” case list.

As of Wednesday, there are 55 active cases of COVID-19, unchanged since Tuesday. Of the 828 cases (one case was removed from a previous day), 763 are now declared resolved — approximately 92 per cent.

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To date, 187 cases have been linked to 30 outbreaks, the health unit notes. There are now three active outbreaks for the health unit, all in Peterborough, as of Wednesday afternoon.

• Empress Gardens Retirement Residence: Declared Monday after a staff member tested positive.
• Trent University’s Gzowski College student residence (declared March 19)
• Brock Mission emergency men’s shelter (declared March 16): One case.

Other COVID-19 data:

• Fleming College: Reports no cases related to its Sutherland Campus in the city on Wednesday.
• Trent University: Reports 13 active cases — one more since Tuesday.  All 13 cases are students living on residence. The university states “not all active cases may be related to current outbreaks at Champlain College or Gzowski College.”
• Close contacts: 200, down from 208 reported on Tuesday.
• Peterborough Regional Health Centre: Reports “less than five” COVID-19 patients — unchanged since March 16. There have been 20 patient transfers from other area, unchanged since March 18.
• Hospitalized cases: 29 since the pandemic was declared — unchanged since Monday (four required the intensive care unit — unchanged).
• Death toll: 10 since the pandemic was declared, one with the Severn Court Student Residence outbreak; three associated with a November 2020 outbreak at Fairhaven long-term care in Peterborough.
• School cases within the health unit’s jurisdiction: North Cavan Public School in Cavan: One case reported on Monday by the Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board; St. Catherine Catholic Elementary School in Peterborough: four cases, up from two initially reported March 10 by the Peterborough, Victoria, Northumberland Catholic District School Board; school remains open and St. John Catholic Elementary School in Peterborough: One case reported on March 10.

The health unit reports more than 45,650 people have been tested for the novel coronavirus. To get tested for COVID-19, book an online appointment. Testing for those without symptoms or with mild symptoms is held at the Northcrest Arena in Peterborough.

Vaccinations clinics are underway for residents ages 80 and older. Book an appointment online using the provincial booking system.

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