COVID-19 cases in Niagara long-term-care homes in decline
The epicentre of Niagara’s worst COVID-19 outbreaks, three long-term-care and retirement homes, where nearly 30 per cent of all local cases reside, appears to be running out of fuel.
Only a few weeks ago, Lundy Manor in Niagara Falls, along with Seasons Retirement Community and Royal Rose both in Welland, each had cases into the dozens as staff and residents alike contracted the virus.
The outbreaks have sidelined many health-care providers who work at the homes. Fortyfour residents with the virus have died, representing more than 81 per cent of all Niagara COVID-19 related deaths.
But data reported by the homes shows the number of active cases among staff and residents has dwindled into the single digits.
Seasons, which has seen 29 of its residents contract the virus, has two active cases remaining. Royal Rose, which had the most cases with 70 residents sick, has six active cases.
Lundy Manor did not respond to a request for information Monday, but on Friday reported it has not had any new COVID-19 cases since April 19.
Niagara’s acting medical officer of health, Dr. Mustafa Hirji, said he is not going to say the outbreaks are at an end. A single case in a long-term-care home is enough to trigger an outbreak declaration. But the situation in the homes is fast improving.
“It is the case that at one point their new cases were well into the double digits, some times that many new cases in a single day, and now we are not seeing that,” he said. “We are not seeing nearly as many new cases.”
Enhanced cleaning, broadbased testing in the homes and rigorous contact tracing allowed public health to identify and contain the outbreaks. Two of the homes also got help from Niagara Health, which dispatched some of its hospital staff to help tackle the issue.
The decline in long-term-care cases was evident Monday when public health declared only one new confirmed case. Hirji said that a case is a person who contracted the virus from an unknown source.
For weeks, the outbreaks had driven up the number of daily confirmed cases. But as the outbreaks simmer and the amount of COVID-19 cases in the broader community has fallen, the daily data is starting to more accurately reflect the overall status of the pandemic in Niagara.
However, Hirji said this will not likely remain the case as the economy slowly reopens.
With increased social activity, comes an increased risk of new infections.
Hirji said it won’t be immediately clear just how many new infections economic reopening will cause. There is a lag between the time a person is infected, shows symptoms, is tested and the results come back.
“It will be two weeks, maybe three, before we will be able to see if there is a trend of infections related to reopening,” he said.