The worst of the deadly COVID-19 outbreak at Anson Place Care Centre could be over, but families and staff are worried about the emotional trauma left behind.

“I think in some ways they are turning the corner,” Dr. Shanker Nesathurai, Haldimand-Norfolk’s chief medical officer of health, said on Monday. But he warned it would be quite some time before the outbreak was declared over.

It has been 10 days since a resident of the Hagersville long-term care facility tested positive for COVID-19, and the most recent deaths the health unit can definitively link to the disease were reported on April 22, when the death toll rose from 25 to 27.

In total, 72 residents at the 101-bed facility contracted the disease, with 45 still in recovery.

Four more residents died in recent days, including one announced Monday evening, but the health unit says COVID-19 was not the cause.

“That’s a judgment call, and we rely on the doctor who treated the patient to make their best determination,” Nesathurai said. “The recent deaths, even if they had a positive lab test, we would arbitrate them as not related to COVID-19.”

Anson Place executive director Lisa Roth said they “remain vigilant” to prevent further spread. She said there have been no changes to the procedures put in place to stem the spread of the virus. These include having staff wear full personal protective equipment with interacting with residents, isolating residents in their rooms where possible, and frequently screening staff and residents for symptoms.

“We remain cautiously optimistic that our active case numbers will decrease as we continue to retest all residents in our care centre and await the second round of test results from our retirement residence,” Roth said.

The health unit could not confirm the total number of Anson Place residents who have died since late March. Roth did not respond to a request for that information.

Mike McCarroll worries about the mental health of residents who have seen dozens of their neighbours die in less than a month. His mother, Ruby, called Anson Place home until her death from COVID-19 on March 30.

“I feel bad for the residents. They’re like a family,” McCarroll said. “To have one death, that affects them all. Now to have 27 of their own pass away in three, four weeks, that’s got to be emotionally hard for them.”

The deaths also take a toll on staff, says Rebecca Piironen, a personal support worker at Anson Place.

“We have our own connections with these people,” said Piironen, who has been off work since March 22 with a non-COVID respiratory illness.

“There’s this one man who’s positive. He’s seen all three of his roommates pass away from this virus. I can’t imagine what’s going through his mind. I can’t imagine the pain that they’re going through mentally.”

Staffing has been a major challenge at Anson Place, as upwards of 30 employees have been forced off work and into quarantine after contracting COVID-19.

After initially appearing to turn down provincial help, Roth approached the health ministry to get an eight-person “SWAT team” of hospital workers for the long-term care floor. A call to the community through local churches brought in more volunteers.

“From everything I know, they’re sufficiently staffed,” Nesathurai said. “The people there are working very hard to provide care to patients.”

The health unit has lifted a requirement that had employees only travelling to and from work to limit potential transmission of the virus.

Some infected employees are living in isolation at a local motel at the company’s expense. All new hires are tested for the virus before starting their jobs.

Nesathurai added that some COVID-positive staff have since had two negative tests, which is the prerequisite for returning to work. But Piironen said just because some employees are healthy enough to go back doesn’t mean they feel safe doing so.

“Right now, some of the girls are getting their two negatives and want to go back in and help (the residents), but we don’t trust what’s going on in there,” said Piironen, who said she is in regular contact with her colleagues.

Their worries are underscored by recent court rulings against Anson Place’s parent company, Responsive Group Inc. The Ontario Nurses’ Association and SEIU Healthcare allege that management has not followed proper infection control protocols or provided staff with adequate protective equipment.

Responsive Group denies the allegations, and the Ontario Labour Relations Board ordered weekly inspections.

Nesathurai credited management and staff’s hard work to get one of the province’s worst outbreaks under control. But he warned that there could still be more deaths among residents who contracted the disease weeks ago and are now showing symptoms.

“I think they’re doing everything that they can, but we also recognize that these are frail, elderly people who were infected,” Nesathurai said.

“I’m hopeful that they’ve turned the corner, but I think we have to wait and see. It’ll be some time before we call the outbreak over.”