All But 3 Residents At An Ontario LTC Have COVID-19 & Some Have The UK Variant
Only three residents in a long-term care home in Ontario tested negative for COVID-19. Which left just over 200 people testing positive for the virus.
Roberta Place long-term home in Barrie saw 124 of 127 residents officially testing positive for the novel coronavirus along with 84 staff members and five others, according to a statement from Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit.
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213 people
Tested positive for COVID-19
If that wasn't heartbreaking enough, 29 people have died and six have tested positive for the U.K variant of the virus.
"The rapid spread, high attack rate and the devastating impact on residents and staff at Roberta Place long-term care home has been heartbreaking for all," Charles Gardner, Medical Officer of Health for the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit said.
"Confirmation of the variant, while expected, does not change our course of action. We remain diligent in doing everything we can to prevent further spread."
According to the statement, the new variant is concerning as it is apparently known to transmit with ease, further resulting "in much larger numbers of cases in a very rapid fashion."
The initial outbreak at the long-term care was declared on January 8. However, it wasn't until January 20 that the health unit believed the U.K variant was present.
It was a second go-around at the tests that told them the exact virus they were up against: UK B.1.1.7 variant.
Cover photo used for illustrative purposes.