New outbreak declared at Hamilton General Hospital as city records one new COVID death

A new COVID-19 outbreak has been declared at the Hamilton General Hospital just one day after Hamilton Health Sciences announced its facilities were outbreak-free.

An outbreak was declared on the 7S unit at the Barton Street East hospital Thursday after four patients tested positive for the virus, according to the latest update from Hamilton public health.

The new outbreak comes just a day after Hamilton Health Sciences put out a media release announcing its facilities were outbreak-free."

That declaration followed the ending of two separate outbreaks - one on F4 at the Juravinski Hospital and the other on the 3E unit at St. Peter's Hospital.

The Spectator has reached out to Hamilton Health Sciences for more information and is awaiting a response.

Hamilton public health is reporting one new COVID death and 51 new cases Friday.

The new death appears to be a Hamiltonian over the age of 80, according to The Spectator's records. A total of 391 residents have died with the virus since the pandemic was declared last March.

There are a total of 16 active outbreaks in the city.

Outbreaks at both Quality Foundations Childcare and St. Martin's Manor Early Learning Centre have now been declared over.

The city's hospitals were caring for 71 COVID patients Friday, 34 of which are in the ICU. More than 1,430 people have been hospitalized with the virus.

There have been a total of 20,755 cases of COVID-19 in Hamilton, with 467 cases still considered active. Nearly 94 per cent of those infected have recovered, according to public health.

More to come ...

Fallon Hewitt is a Hamilton-based reporter at The Spectator. Reach her via email: fhewitt@thespec.com