Infection control measures are now in place at Lanark Lifestyles, a retirement residence in Perth, after a staff member tested positive for COVID-19.
According to the Eastern Ontario Health Unit, the staff member is at home under self-isolation. All other staff have been instructed to report any symptoms to public health immediately.
Dr. Neel Chadha, who works at the residence, says there are no reports of residents or other staff members infected with the virus at this time.
“The number of outbreaks in the last week in long-term care homes and retirement homes in the area serves as a reminder that we all need to follow the recommended actions to decrease the risk of spread of COVID-29 in the community,” Dr. Paula Stewart, medical officer of health, said in a statement. “This includes staying at home as much as possible and staying six feet, or two arms lengths away, from others when in public places to reduce the spread of COVID-19.”
The Almonte Country Haven, a nursing home in Almonte, also declared an outbreak last week. Three residents of the home had tested positive for the virus. As a precaution, every resident has been isolated to their room to prevent further spread.
For more information, those concerned can call the Public Health Unit.
As of Saturday morning, Ontario has 3,630 cases. The number of hospitalized patients sits at 506 and 196 patients are in ICU with COVID-19 (152 of which are on a ventilator).
The Ontario government has also released further demographic details on its monitoring website.
About 48 per cent of cases (or 1,755) involve men while just over 51 per cent (or 1,857) are women.
The majority of cases are in the 40 to 59 age group (36 per cent, or 1,319 cases), followed by the 20 to 39 age group (about 28 per cent, or 1,025 cases).
To date, Ottawa Public Health reports 289 lab-confirmed cases in the city and three deaths. Of those, 13 per cent of cases have been hospitalized, six per cent of which ended up in intensive care.
