WATERLOO REGION — Four more people have died as COVID-19 targets the elderly, the unwell, and the people who care for them.
Three of the latest deaths revealed Saturday are connected to two facilities for seniors that have been ravaged by the disease in Kitchener: Forest Heights Revera, a long-term care home, and Highview Residences, a retirement home.
There have now been seven deaths at Forest Heights and six deaths at Highview Residences, among 23 deaths in total attributed to the pandemic.
Outbreaks have now been declared over at two homes for long-term care in Kitchener: the Sunnyside facility and the Chartwell Westmount facility. Nobody died at either facility.
However, another seniors’ facility has declared an outbreak. The Village of Winston Park retirement home in Kitchener has one infected employee.
There are currently 13 seniors’ facilities with active outbreaks in the region.
The latest details on 474 reported COVID-19 cases suggest the disease is unrelenting in targeting the elderly and unwell, amid more hopeful signs for others who are practising physical distancing.
Here are the latest, alarming numbers about the elderly and sick:
• Deaths connected to four elderly care facilities now account for two-thirds of all deaths attributed to the new coronavirus in Waterloo Region.
• For the first time, seniors aged 80 or older account for the largest cohort of infected residents, at 104 people.
• Healthcare workers account for one-third of all reported infections. This reflects higher testing among them and also their vulnerability on the front lines.
• Half of all reported disease transmissions now occur in long-term care or retirement homes.
• Women continue to be infected twice as often as men, consistent with the predominance of women among health care workers and among the elderly.
Here are more hopeful signs about the general community:
• Hospitals are not overburdened. Hospitalizations have declined to 22 infected patients after peaking April 6 at 36. In part this is because some patients who are elderly are not being transferred to hospitals.
• Active COVID-19 cases may be stabilizing, sadly as more people die and happily as more people recover.
• Transmissions within the community, or by close contact, are shrinking as a share of all cases.
A ninth case of COVID-19 has been declared among inmates at the prison for women in Kitchener, Grand Valley Institution. Two guards are also infected.
Twitter: @OuthitRecord
Twitter: @OuthitRecord
