Another resident of Simcoe Manor has died from COVID-19.
As of Sunday, the County of Simcoe is reporting 40 resident and 28 staff cases of COVID-19 at the Beeton long-term care facility.
A 77-year-old woman resident died on Monday, bringing the COVID-19 death toll at the facility to seven.
“We have been looking at every aspect of our service delivery to ensure it reflects the best practices and infection prevention and control procedures. We are working very closely with our partners here from RVH (Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre) and public health to try and prevent further spread,” said Jane Sinclair, general manager of health and emergency services at the County of Simcoe.
There have been no new cases reported since Oct. 17. Sinclair said that as of Monday, one of the residents is in hospital while the others are being cared for at Simcoe Manor.
Last Tuesday, the Ministry of Long-Term Care announced it had issued a management order appointing Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre (RVH) to temporarily manage Simcoe Manor on behalf of the County of Simcoe, starting Oct. 9.
RVH will manage the long-term care home for 90 days.
At the end of last week, rapid testing started at the home aided by RVH. Swabs are taken at the home and transported to RVH to be processed using their lab equipment. The home is able to get test results back between 24 and 48 hours.
“It’s a critical piece to our early detection and management,” said Sinclair. “We are seeing tests coming back much quicker and then putting in preventative measures much faster.”
Sinclair said the source of the outbreak has still not been determined, and the effort to determine a source is underway being led by the health unit.
However, Sinclair said there is some good news, in that some residents are recovering well.
“We do have some residents who have improved and are no longer symptomatic,” she said. “We will report in future as more residents become asymptomatic and have been cleared medically.”
Editor's Note, Oct. 20: Officials from Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre have offered more clarity regarding rapid testing at Simcoe Manor. This story has been edited to add information on the rapid testing process.
