Shalom Village outbreak declared over as Hamilton records 63 new cases of COVID-19
Hamilton's second largest COVID-19 outbreak has been declared over, ending more than two months of devastation that took the lives of 20 seniors.
Shalom Village in Westdale had a total of 218 cases in its outbreak since Dec. 9, 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, 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 PPE. In a December interview with The Spectator, Nathan Stall, a geriatrician at Sinai Health System, called the outbreak a disaster," while a family member of a resident who died said 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 recorded 63 new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday as well as two new deaths, marking a total of 265 since the pandemic was declared last March.
One of the new deaths was someone over the age of 80, while the other was someone between the ages of 70 and 79, according to the city. 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 was also an additional death reported at Macassa Lodge, bringing the total to 10 since the outbreak in the Hamilton Mountain long-term care home started on Jan. 1.
Deaths are considered COVID deaths" if the person died with COVID, not necessarily because of it.
As of Saturday, Hamilton has 30 active outbreaks.
An outbreak in the COVID care unit at the Juravinski Hospital was declared Thursday but not added to the city's site until Saturday. A spokesperson for Hamilton Health Sciences said three staff members have been infected with the virus.
An active outbreak at Canada Bread, a bakery on Nebo Road that employs 550 people, has 40 cases, up from 38 on Friday. The outbreak was declared Jan. 28. The bakery remains open.
The outbreaks at Paracel Laboratories Inc. and Pipeflo Contracting Corporation are both over. In both outbreaks, less than five staff members were infected and no one died.
Hamilton has recorded a total of 9,470 confirmed and probable cases of COVID since the pandemic began. Of those, 489 are active cases and 8,582 cases, or 91 per cent of all cases, are considered resolved.
There are currently 99 patients in the city's hospitals, and nearly 700 Hamiltonians have been hospitalized since the start of the pandemic.
Fallon Hewitt is a Hamilton-based reporter at The Spectator. Reach her via email: fhewitt@thespec.com