Hamilton records 151 COVID cases and five new deaths over weekend
Hamilton's second biggest COVID-19 outbreak was declared over on the weekend as the city reported 151 new cases and five more deaths connected to the virus.
Shalom Village in Westdale had a total of 218 cases in its outbreak since Dec. 9, 2020, according to public health - second only to Grace Villa on the east Mountain.
In total, 20 people died with COVID-19.
The outbreak, which spread throughout its nursing home and assisted living apartments, was declared over on Friday by Hamilton public health.
In a letter posted online Friday, Shalom Village CEO Ken Callaghan said the past two months had been a challenging time" for residents, staff, volunteers and family members connected to the seniors home.
We recognize the joy this will bring to many of our community members, but we also wish to acknowledge the tragic loss of the Shalom Village family members who are no longer with us to enjoy this moment," states the letter.
St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton had been supporting the home's outbreak response with staffing, infection prevention and control, and education on personal protective equipment. In a December interview with The Spectator, Nathan Stall, a geriatrician at Sinai Health System, called the outbreak a disaster," while family members of residents said the home could have done more.
According to Callaghan, the voluntary management agreement with St. Joe's will remain in place as they work through new processes and protocols relating to the resumption of normal' activities."
They're also looking forward" to welcoming essential caregivers back into the home and seeing their residents resume regular activities and visits with family. The home is also planning a virtual memorial to remember those who died in the outbreak.
Hamilton public health recorded 151 new cases of COVID-19 over the weekend, as well as five new deaths, marking a total of 268 since the pandemic was declared last March.
Based on The Spectator's records, the new deaths appear to be three people over the age of 80, one person in their 70s and another person in their 60s. Nothing more is known about their deaths, as public health no longer shares that information.
Public health reported one new death connected to an outbreak at The Meadows long-term-care home in Ancaster on Saturday - marking a total of nine since the outbreak was declared on Dec. 16, 2020.
There were two additional deaths reported at Macassa Lodge over the weekend, bringing the total to 11 since the outbreak in the Hamilton Mountain long-term-care home started on Jan. 1.
And a second death was reported in an outbreak on the sixth floor of Hamilton's Alternate Health Facility on King Street. The satellite hospital is a joint operation by St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton and Hamilton Health Sciences. An outbreak was declared at the site on Jan. 22.
Deaths are considered COVID deaths" if the person died with COVID, not necessarily because of it.
As of Sunday, Hamilton had 28 active outbreaks.
An outbreak at Canada Bread, a bakery on Nebo Road that employs 550 people, continued to grow over the weekend, with 44 cases as of Sunday. The outbreak was declared Jan. 28. The bakery was still operating as of Friday.
An outbreak in the COVID care unit at the Juravinski Hospital was declared Thursday but not added to the city's site until Saturday. Three staff members have been infected with the virus, according to a spokesperson.
New outbreaks were also declared at Chartwell Willowgrove in Ancaster - home to one of the city's worst outbreaks - and the Lakeview Retirement Home in Stoney Creek. Each facility has seen one staff member test positive.
Two separate outbreaks at the Juravinski Hospital were declared over on Saturday. Between the two outbreaks, a total of 13 patients and 16 staff were infected. Five people died in the outbreak in the F4 unit.
Four other outbreaks are now over. They include: Paracel Laboratories Inc., Pipeflo Contracting Corporation, Chartwell Deerview Crossing Retirement Residence and Kingsberry Place Seniors Residence. No outbreak involved more than five COVID cases and no one died.
Hamilton has recorded a total of 9,558 confirmed and probable cases of COVID since the pandemic began. Of those, 527 cases are active and 8,628 cases, or 90 per cent of all infections, are considered resolved.
There are currently 99 COVID patients in the city's hospitals and 703 Hamiltonians have been hospitalized since the start of the pandemic. The weekly rate of new cases per 100,000 population continues to drop, hitting 65 on Sunday, down from 66 on Friday.
Fallon Hewitt is a Hamilton-based reporter at The Spectator. Reach her via email: fhewitt@thespec.com