Niagara’s new virus cases stay under 100 threshold

Five more deaths bring total to 316 since start of the pandemic last March

Niagara reported 57 new COVID-19 cases Monday, the fourth straight day that number has stayed below 100.

Several other indicators also continued to trend in the right direction, providing hope Niagara has seen the worst of COVID-19’S second wave.

While promising, the data shows Niagara remains in a fight to bring the coronavirus under control.

The province’s stay-at-home order remains in effect, and public health officials still stress the need to mask up in public, avoid social contacts outside your home and don’t go to work if you feel ill.

In Niagara, the daily count of new cases has been in double digits five out of the past seven days. In that time, there have been a total of 604 new cases recorded, according to Niagara Region Public Health.

For perspective, less than two weeks ago on Jan. 19, Niagara had recorded 1,018 new cases in the previous week.

Five more COVID-19 deaths were reported Monday, bringing the total since March to 316 lives lost. Close to 190 of those were recorded in January alone.

Also as of Monday there were 1,119 active COVID-19 cases in Niagara, about 300 fewer than just a week ago.

The number of people requiring hospitalization also continues to decline. On Sunday, Niagara Health reported having 50 COVID-19 patients in its care.

That is a significant drop from the second week of January when most days it had more than 70 patients in hospital.

Even so, last month must have been an especially stressful time for Niagara hospital workers caring for COVID-19 patients.

Niagara Health reported 56 COVID-19 patients died in hospital over the final three weeks of January.

It continues to deal with several in-hospital outbreaks, including the emergency department and Unit 2A in St. Catharines and the sixth floor, fourth floor and extended care units in Welland.

On Monday, the provincial government reported about 36 per cent of all Ontario longterm-care homes are in

outbreak.

In Niagara, there are 32 longterm-care homes as well as 14 retirement homes the province has designated as at-risk. Of those, 21 are in outbreak.

Over the weekend an outbreak was declared ended at

Seasons Retirement Communities in Welland.

Outbreaks are continuing at Hotel Dieu Shaver Health and Rehabilitation Centre in St. Catharines and at Grimsby’s West Lincoln Memorial Hospital in the C Ward.

Outbreaks at long-term-care homes within the region include:

In Niagara Falls, R.H. Lawson

Salvation Army Eventide Home, Oakwood Park Lodge, Chippawa Creek at Bella Care Residence (Willoughby and Vineyard units), Monarch Memory Care, Millennium Trail Manor;

In St. Catharines, at Heatherwood Retirement Residence, Heidehof Home for the Aged, Radiant Care Tabor Manor long-term care, Tufford Manor,

Royal Henley Retirement Residence, Tufford Nursing Home, Extendicare, Garden City Manor;

In Niagara-on-the-lake, at Niagara Long-term Care Residence (Riverview unit) and at Pleasant Manor long-term care and in Lincoln at Albright Manor;

In Welland at Rapelje Lodge (houses 400, 500), in Pelham at

Lookout Ridge Retirement Community, and in Thorold at Cobblestone Gardens Retirement Residence;

In Fort Erie at Crescent Park Lodge, and in Port Colborne at Northland Pointe (Starboard unit).