UPDATED AT 5:05 p.m. on 06/04/2020

On Thursday, June 4, for the third day in a row, the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 within the jurisdiction of the Eastern Ontario Health Unit (EOHU) remained at 149.

There were 118 resolved cases of COVID-19 within EOHU jurisdiction on Thursday, which means there were 31 active cases.  Out of the 31 cases, there were 27 active cases among residents of the United Counties of Prescott and Russell and 81 resolved cases.  Among residents of the United Counties of Stormont, Dundas, and Glengarry (SD & G) on Thursday, there were four active cases and 24 resolved cases.  In the City of Cornwall, there were zero active cases as of Thursday.

Among the active cases within the EOHU territory on Thursday, three patients were in hospital, zero patients were in intensive care for the first time since the pandemic began in March.

New outbreak

A new COVID-19 outbreak at a long-term care facility within the EOHU territory was declared on June 1 at the St-Viateur Nursing Home in Limoges.  EOHU Medical Officer of Health Dr. Paul Roumeliotis said that an asymptomatic employee who lives in Ottawa but works at St-Viateur had tested negative for COVID-19 on May 4, but recently received a positive result from a more recent test.  As a precaution, all St-Viateur residents and staff were tested for COVID-19 on Tuesday, June 2.  One case of COVID-19 in an employee or resident of a long-term care facility qualifies as an outbreak.

Staff from Winchester District Memorial Hospital are assisting St-Viateur personnel with infection control and prevention measures.

The other institutional COVID-19 outbreaks under EOHU jurisdiction, including the one at Pinecrest Nursing Home in Plantagenet that claimed the lives of 11 residents, are now resolved.

Testing

COVID-19 testing is now open to all residents of the EOHU territory whether they have symptoms of the disease or not.  There are five testing and assessment centres throughout the EOHU`s jurisdiction.  They are located in Hawkesbury, Casselman, Rockland, Cornwall, and Winchester.  As of June 4, 9,500 people had been tested for COVID-19 at the five centres, and by paramedics making home visits.  The total includes long-term care patients, but does not include patients tested at hospital emergency rooms.

The EOHU is testing retirement home residents and staff based on the assessed risk of each facility.  Retirement residences are listed as green, yellow, or red according to the severity of risk.  There are no red level retirement homes within the EOHU`s jurisdiction.

Sun and sand time

On Wednesday, June 3, Roumeliotis said that the EOHU had consulted with its lawyers and received an opinion stating that under existing provincial orders, beaches may open.  All beaches within the EOHU’s jurisdiction are currently closed but Roumeliotis has contacted all municipalities and park authorities stating that they may prepare to open.  Physical distancing will still be required at open beaches.

As of Thursday, June 4, Champlain Township had already opened the municipal beach in L’Orignal.

The EOHU will also be resuming its seasonal program of testing water at local beaches to ensure it is safe for swimming.

Across Ontario

Throughout the province of Ontario as of June 4, there had been 29,403 confirmed cases of COVID-19.   That total was a 1.2 per cent increase from 29,047 confirmed cases Wednesday, June 3.  Out of the total number of confirmed cases on June 4, 23,208, or 78.9 per cent of the 29,403 cases were listed by the Ministry of Health as resolved.  That means there were 6,195 active cases.

Throughout Ontario on June 4, 786,323 people had been tested so far for COVID-19.

There were 776 COVID-19 patients in hospital across Ontario on June 4.  Out of that number, 121 patients were in intensive care and 94 patients were on ventilators.

As of Thursday, there had been 2,357 deaths due to COVID-19 across Ontario, which was an increase from 2,293 deaths on Wednesday.  Out of the 2,357 deaths, 1,509 or 64 per cent of them had been in residents of long-term care facilities.

For full COVID-19 information for residents within the Eastern Ontario Health Unit territory, go to https://eohu.ca/en/covid/covid-19-status-update-for-eohu-region .

Map showing confirmed COVID-19 cases in the jurisdiction of the Eastern Ontario Health Unit on Thursday, June 4, 2020.

Map: Eastern Ontario Health Unit.