Another Hamilton long-term care home has declared a COVID-19 outbreak
Published April 2, 2020 at 8:23 pm
A second outbreak at a Hamilton retirement residence has been declared.
A second outbreak at a Hamilton retirement residence has been declared.
Cardinal Retirement Residence in downtown Hamilton has reported one resident has tested positive for the virus, Hamilton’s Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Elizabeth Richardson, said Thursday (April 2) at a daily virtual media briefing.
Dr. Richardson also confirmed the death of a resident at Heritage Green Nursing home linked to COVID-19.
She said the 88-year-old woman passed away Monday at the facility and is the second fatality due to the virus in the city of Hamilton.
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At the moment, there are six confirmed cases at Heritage Green: two are staff members and four are residents.
Richardson said that there are a number of staff and residents who are symptomatic who are awaiting test results but she could not confirm the number.
An outbreak at the home was declared in March after one resident contracted the virus and was one of Hamilton’s first cases.
That resident, an 80-year-old woman, became Hamilton’s first COVID-19 fatality when she passed away in hospital on March 24.
The City of Hamilton reported that there are 127 confirmed COVID-19 cases, that’s an increase of 15 new cases from Wednesday.
Of the 127 cases in Hamilton, 41 have now been resolved.
There are two cases being treated in St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton hospitals, and six in Hamilton Health Sciences hospitals. Two cases are in the ICU.
At this point, the city says, there have been 29 cases of COVID-19 in Hamilton that indicate that there is spread in the community, in addition to other travel-related cases.
Mayor Fred Eisenberger reiterated the need for people to stay home, saying that what we do in the coming days and weeks will dictate how long these measures will be in place.
He said that gatherings of five or more people are strictly prohibited and that bylaw and enforcement and police will be out there looking to ensure these measures are adhered to.
Hamilton’s Emergency Operations Centre Director, Paul Johnson, in an apparent response to a continued presence of people on public golf courses, stressed that they are closed to everyone and even though people are still doing some work on them, it’s to prepare for reopening and residents must stay away.
This comes a day after the City closed all of the escarpment stairs because too many people were using them despite repeated calls for them to be used for essential purposes only.
Johnson said they were hoping that it wouldn’t come to the closures but it’s become apparent that drastic measures needed to be taken to keep people apart from one another.
“Every move that you make, every step that you take, will help us knock this virus down,” Eisenberger said.
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