Maple Manor nursing home has 103 residents, 54 with COVID-19

The second surge in COVID-19 cases is cutting a devastating swath through long-term care homes in smaller urban areas of southwestern Ontario, with one home in Tillsonburg facing an outbreak that has infected more than half its 103 residents. 

The Maple Manor outbreak was first declared on Dec. 12. A week later, it closed its doors to visitors and the home is now dealing with 54 cases among residents and 34 among staff, according to numbers posted on Southwestern Public Health's website. Four residents have also died in the outbreak.

Tillsonburg Mayor Stephen Molnar said family members of staff and residents contact him daily about the situation. 

"Behind those numbers are real people," he said. "They are family members, they are friends, they are members of our community." 

Molnar said the municipality has offered its help to Southwestern Public Health, the health unit that serves Oxford and Elgin counties. 

The outbreak at Maple Manor is part of a worrying trend of rising case counts in rural areas in the region. 

On New Year's Eve, Southwestern Public Health announced a new high in local daily cases with 71. There were 47 new cases reported Monday but the health unit says its modelling data shows they could soon be dealing with 100 new daily cases. 

System at risk of overload

Dr. Joyce Lock, Southwestern Public Health's medical officer of health, said the rising case counts are on the brink of overloading the system. 

"Once we start to see daily increases approaching 100 per day, it becomes very difficult to conduct contact tracing within 24 hours to contain the virus," she said. "Our team is working at maximum capacity, our local health-care system is strained and we are urgently asking for your support to modify behaviours to stop the spread."

In a news release, Lock warned that the region's positivity rate is at 3.5 per cent, which exceeds the three per cent mark considered to be a threshold beyond which local health services become overwhelmed.

Lock also said the rising cases could hinder the region's ability to properly perform contract tracing, which helps identify new outbreaks and isolate people who test positive for COVID-19. 

"We need to prioritize contact tracing to ensure we contain the spread in high-risk settings, such as workplaces, long-term care homes and in schools. It may take us longer than 24 hours to notify positive cases elsewhere," she said.

Other homes also facing outbreaks

The situation at Maple Manor is far from unique in southwestern Ontario, with care homes in other small urban centres within driving distance of London also dealing with serious outbreaks.

They include: 

PeopleCare Communities — Tavistock  This long-term care home is reporting 32 resident cases — slightly less than a third of its 100 residents — and 24 staff cases in an outbreak that has killed four residents.

Exeter Villa — Exeter Exeter Villa is dealing with 16 positive COVID-19 cases among its 47 residents along with seven staff cases. The home also announced the death from COVID-19 of one of its long-term residents in a Dec. 30 news release. The same release said staff are being screened for COVID-19 and that residents are being tested every five or six days. Residents are being isolated in their rooms to prevent further transmission. 

Molnar said the best way to help staff and residents deal with care home outbreaks is to follow the health protocols to wear a mask, physically distance from others and limit personal contacts to people you live with. 

"We need to double down and sacrifice just that little bit more," he said. "They are our neighbours and members of our community and they can use our help."