Four new cases of COVID-19 reported in staff at hard-hit Kitchener long-term care home

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KITCHENER — Waterloo Region's hardest-hit long-term care home has tallied another four cases of COVID-19 as its outbreak stretches towards its third month.

Public health officials reported another four cases of the virus in staff at Forest Heights Revera.

Since the outbreak was declared on April 1, there have been 178 cases in residents there and 73 cases in staff. To date, 51 people have died.

In a media briefing on Friday morning, Acting Medical Officer of Health Dr. Hsiu-Li Wang said that the cases were all asymptomatic.

Because they followed appropriate public health guidelines, Dr. Wang says that the risk of transmission to other residents is considered low.

In a statement earlier this month, Revera Inc. called the outbreak "complex and challenging to manage in an old home with ward-style rooms and shared bathrooms."

"The devastating effect of the pandemic has been emotionally and physically exhausting for the staff and the management team," the statement reads in part.

On June 2, the Ontario government appointed St. Mary's General Hospital to manage the long-term care home as it battled the outbreak.

Two other long-term care or retirement homes remain in outbreak, too.

Parkwood Mennonite retirement home has one case in a resident, while at Sunnyside Home long-term care home, a resident and four staff members have tested positive.

The region reported a total of three new cases of COVID-19 on Friday.

Dr. Wang clarified the apparent discrepancy during a media briefing that morning.

"Sometimes what happens is, we have a new case so we put it up in the overall numbers, but it takes a day or two to get the correct details to attribute it," Dr. Wang explained.

"It's not that there's a number missing, it's just that the attribution to a home sometimes happens a day or two later."

On Friday, the status of three cases was still "pending."

There are now a total of 1,280 cases of COVID-19 in Waterloo Region, including 1,069 resolved ones and 115 deaths.

It's been more than three weeks since the region's last COVID-19-related death.

There are now 96 active cases in Waterloo Region, one less than the number reported on Thursday. Of those cases, 12 people are in hospital.

The region also reported Friday that another 773 tests had been done, bringing the total number of tests done since the pandemic began to 31,925.

Across the province, Ontario reported just 111 new cases on Friday, the lowest number since March 25. But Health Minister Christine Elliott said in a tweet that, while the number is welcome, "we shouldn't draw too many conclusions from one day of data."

"Rather, we'll continue to keep a close eye on what is hopefully the continuation of our downward trend," the tweet goes on.

The 111 new cases marks a 0.3 per cent increase over Thursday's total, when the province reported 189 new lab-confirmed cases.