An additional death and five new cases of COVID-19 at the Prescott and Russell Residence in Hawkesbury were confirmed by the Eastern Ontario Health Unit (EOHU) on Monday, November 23.

EOHU Medical Officer of Health Dr. Paul Roumeliotis said that one resident passed away due to COVID-19 during the previous weekend, bringing the total number of deaths to 13 since the outbreak began on October 9.

There were three new COVID-19 cases among residents and two new cases among employees at the Prescott and Russell Residence as of Monday, bringing the total number of active cases in the outbreak to 19.  There have been 170 cases among residents and staff at the facility since the start of the outbreak.  As of November 23, 76 of the resident cases were resolved, and 63 of the employee cases were resolved.

Two other COVID-19 outbreaks under EOHU jurisdiction remained in effect as of November 23.  They are at Russell Meadows Retirement Home and Woodland Villa in Long Sault.

Casselman school closed due to COVID-19 case

École élémentaire catholique de Casselman Pavillon Sainte Euphémie is closed for the next two weeks after a staff member tested positive.  Roumeliotis said on Monday that the individual`s activities and contacts were not limited to a single classroom so after consulting with school administration and the school board, he decided that the building should be closed.

“This is not an outbreak, this is a precautionary closure,” emphasized Roumeliotis.

As a result of the closure, children from 255 families will be learning online at home until they can return to class.

According to the Government of Ontario list documenting active COVID-19 cases in schools, the following schools under EOHU jurisdiction had active cases of COVID-19 as of November 24.  Two or more cases is considered an outbreak unless otherwise stated.

Two students at St. Jude Catholic Elementary School near Vankleek Hill—Not an outbreak due to one of the cases not originating from within the school

One staff member at École secondaire catholique L’Escale in Clarence-Rockland

One student at École élémentaire publique Rose des Vents in Cornwall

Three students at École secondaire publique L’Héritage in Cornwall

Among licensed childcare facilities under EOHU jurisdiction, an active case of COVID-19 remained in effect in one employee at Kawehnoke Child Care Centre in Akwesasne as of November 24.

New order for businesses

A new order issued by Roumeliotis under Section 22 the Health Protection and Promotion Act took effect on November 24.  The order gives more specific instructions for owners and managers of restaurants, bars, retail businesses, and recreational facilities such as public swimming pools to follow regarding masks, distancing, screening, and documentation in order to protect employees and customers.  For further information, the entire order is available at www.eohu.ca .

EOHU statistics

Across the EOHU’s territory as of November 24, there were 106 active cases of COVID-19 out of a cumulative 802 cases that includes 667 resolved cases.

As of November 24, five patients from the EOHU’s jurisdiction remained in hospital due to COVID-19 and no patients were in intensive care.

At the six testing and assessment centres, and with the assistance of paramedics, 81,014 COVID-19 tests had been performed across the EOHU’s territory as of November 24.

As of November 24, there had been a total of 29 deaths due to COVID-19 across the jurisdiction of the EOHU.

The EOHU’s territory remained at the Yellow-Protect level for COVID-19 control as of Tuesday.

Across Ontario

There were 16,436 active cases of COVID-19 across Ontario on November 23, according to the Ministry of Health.  There were 1,009, or one per cent more active cases on November 23 than on November 22.

The Ministry reported that 90,073 or 84.6 per cent of cumulative cases were resolved as of November 23.

There were 534 COVID-19 patients in hospital across Ontario as of November 23.  Out of those 534 patients, 159 were in intensive care, and 91 patients were on ventilators.

There had been 3,519 deaths due to COVID-19 across Ontario as of November 23, comprising 3.3 per cent of all cumulative cases.

Active COVID-19 cases across EOHU jurisdiction for November 24, 2020

Map: Eastern Ontario Health Unit.

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