St. Mary's Hospital takes over Village Manor, as region sees 1 more COVID death

St. Mary's Hospital has been ordered to take over management of Village Manor in St. Jacobs, as the retirement residence deals with an outbreak that has infected 19 residents and three staff. 

Three of the 19 residents are in hospital, said a news release issued by the Region of Waterloo on Sunday. 

The order was made on Saturday, and hospital staff immediately started working at the retirement residence. 

"From the very beginning of this outbreak, health system partners and their resources have 'wrapped around' this home to help it manage its COVID-19 outbreak," said Region of Waterloo Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Hsiu-Li Wang.

According to the public health unit's records, the outbreak began on Nov. 14. 

"It has become clear that we need stronger and quicker action, which is why this order has been issued."

The hospital's primary role at Village Manor will be to help the retirement home manage the outbreak and make sure that it takes all steps necessary to control spread. 

61 new cases, 1 death

Region of Waterloo Public Health reported 61 new cases of COVID-19 and one new death on Sunday.

This brings the two-day total for the weekend to 108 cases. A total of 47 cases were reported on Saturday, while 39 were reported on Friday.

There are currently 341 active cases with 21 people in hospital.

Of the 3,019 positive cases recorded in the region since March, 2,555, or 85 per cent, have been marked as resolved. The number of people who have died from the virus increased by one to 123. 

24 active outbreaks

According to the Region of Waterloo Public Health unit dashboard, there are 24 active outbreaks in the region, two of which are at long-term care or retirement homes: Chartwell Westmount Long-Term Care and Luther Village on the Park.

The outbreak at Village Manor was not listed among the active outbreaks. According to the public health unit, as a smaller retirement residence, it was categorized under congregate settings.

There are six outbreaks at congregate settings, such as group homes, including one outbreak with 21 cases — the Village Manor outbreak. 

Other outbreaks include office settings, construction sites, food and beverage services and manufacturing workplaces.

Region moving to COVID-19 'red zone' on Monday

Waterloo will move into the 'red zone' category of the provincial framework at 12:01 a.m. on Monday.

This will mean stricter gathering limits, impacts to sports and recreation, increased screening at businesses and more.

According to Dr. Wang, "The spread and circulation of COVID-19 has significantly increased in the community. In the last couple of weeks, we have seen a significant growth in the number of cases and outbreaks across Waterloo Region."

Wang is recommending that all residents stay home and only leave for essential purposes such as:

• Going to work.
• Going to school.
• Groceries or take-out.
• Medical appointments
• Exercising, preferably outdoors.

"I appreciate that new restrictions and recommendations are difficult but these are the steps we must take if we are to get COVID-19 under control," Wang said. 

"If we all work together to protect each other and our loved ones, our collective efforts will make a difference in Waterloo region. We are stronger when we work together."

On Sunday Ontario reported 1,534 new cases of COVID-19 along with 14 new deaths.