Hamilton’s total COVID-19 cases top 490, public health reports 4 more outbreaks

Hamilton, Ont., saw its overall number of COVID-19 cases shrink on Tuesday after public health subtracted a number of “false positive” tests from its case count after re-testing samples from a number of locations in the city.

On Monday, public health reported a total of 494 cases during the pandemic. That number has since been revised and sits at 490, with 485 positive cases of coronavirus and five probable cases.

In an update, the city’s medical officer said 18 false-positive tests were recorded on Friday. Ten of the results were tied to individuals at Macassa Lodge long-term care home which have now been deemed negative after re-testing.

The other eight false positives include three people at Heritage Green, three at Wentworth Lodge, one at St. Elizabeth’s Village and one at First Place Retirement Living on King Street East.

Samples from all eight of the latter have been re-tested and are now deemed negative for the new coronavirus.

There were no new deaths. The city has 24 deaths connected to COVID-19 as of Tuesday.

Four more institutional outbreaks have been declared by the city including a pair of staff cases at Grace Villa nursing home.

The Village of Wentworth Heights retirement home,  Extendicare Hamilton nursing home on the mountain and Arbour Creek care nursing home on King Street East also reported one staff case each in their outbreaks.

As of Tuesday, the city has 12 outbreaks at eight long-term care homes (Arbour Creek, Blackadar Continuing Care, Dundurn Place Care Centre, Grace Villa, Heritage Green, Idlewyld Manor, Regina Gardens, and Wentworth Lodge) and two retirement residences (The Rosslyn, and The Village of Wentworth Heights)

An outbreak at I.H. Mission Services, which started on May 2, entered its 10th day on Tuesday.

Hamilton hospitals have 23 patients in care units — 13 at Hamilton Health Sciences and 10 at St. Joseph’s hospitals.

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The health unit reports that 360 of the city’s 490 COVID-19 cases — or 74 per cent — have been resolved.

Niagara Region reports 2 new COVID-19 cases

Niagara Region reported two new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday. The region has a total of 561, with more than half of their total cases — 412 — resolved, according to public health.

Seventy-three of the region’s cases have been connected to residents or patients in an institutional outbreak.

Two outbreaks in Brant County declared over

Brant County’s health unit reported no new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday.  The region holds at 102 confirmed cases with six people hospitalized as of May 12.

The county has declared two outbreaks — Telfer Place long-term care and St. Joseph’s Lifecare Centre — over on Tuesday.

The outbreak at Briarwood Gardens retirement home is on-going.

In an update on Tuesday afternoon, Brant’s medical officer of health, Dr. Elizabeth Urbantke, said Ferraro’s Brantford plant has re-opened after a shut-down during the last week of April. Seven workers tested positive for COVID-19 at the plant causing the closing.

The region has three deaths and 89 resolved cases.

Questions about COVID-19? Here are some things you need to know:

Symptoms can include fever, cough and difficulty breathing — very similar to a cold or flu. Some people can develop a more severe illness. People most at risk of this include older adults and people with severe chronic medical conditions like heart, lung or kidney disease. If you develop symptoms, contact public health authorities.

To prevent the virus from spreading, experts recommend frequent handwashing and coughing into your sleeve. They also recommend minimizing contact with others, staying home as much as possible and maintaining a distance of two metres from other people if you go out.

For full COVID-19 coverage from Global News, click here.

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