Hamilton, Ontario reported 354 total cases of the novel coronavirus on Wednesday with 348 confirmed cases and six probable.

The city says there are now 17 deaths connected to COVID-19 with a 96-year-old female from Cardinal Retirement Residence passing away on Sunday.

The outbreak at Cardinal accounts for 64 cases with 47 among residents and 17 infected staff.

In an update on Wednesday night during the city’s virtual town hall, medical officer of health Dr. Elizabeth Richardson said there’s been some good news over the last 48 hours with a decline in new cases.

“Leading up ’til noon today, we had no new cases of COVID-19 here in Hamilton,” said Richardson, “And in fact one of the people who’d been classified as a probable case, with further investigation, we were determined wasn’t actually a COVID-19 case at all.”

Seven of the city’s 17 deaths are connected to the outbreak at Cardinal with another four tied to Heritage Green nursing home in Stoney Creek which has 15 total cases of COVID-19 as of Wednesday.

The city is reporting outbreaks at three institutions over – Kingsberry Place Seniors Residence, Chartwell Deerview Crossing, and St. Joseph’s Hospital’s special care nursery.

Emmanuel House, Wesley supportive housing, Good Shepard Men’s Centre, St. Peter’s Hospital, and Dundurn Place Care Centre still have outbreaks as of April 22.

Last week, Richardson revealed that the city had undertaken an audit of 31 group homes.

A probe that encompasses not only retirement and long-term care homes but other settings where a significant number of people live together.

Infection control measures such as respecting physical distancing and other similar infection control practices are some of the areas the city is targeting with the audit.

On Wednesday night Richardson said the audit had been expanded to 43 more locations under section 22 of the Health Protection Promotion Act .

Richardson said the move is to devise outbreak plans for the homes in relation to staffing and having the correct personal protection equipment on hand.

“This is a reminder of things that they need to do,” Richardson said, “And most people comply in any case, it’s just some that don’t out of the many institutions that we have here in Hamilton.”

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Nineteen people are in Hamilton hospitals receiving treatment for the virus: six at St Joseph’s and 13 at Hamilton Health Sciences facilities.

Eighty-six cases in the city are considered community-acquired infections with no link to anyone known to have the virus.

Richardson says 171 cases have been resolved and that because most people who get infected find it’s usually just like dealing with a bad cold.

“Of course, it is the people who are older than age 65, people who have chronic medical conditions like kidney disease or heart disease or asthma and respiratory disease, those are the people that we’re really trying to protect with all of this, to keep them from getting infected,” Richardson said.

Niagara Health reports 405 COVID-19 cases

Niagara Region reported 20 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, adding to its overall total which stands at 405.

More than a third, 154, of its cases have recovered, according to public health. 203 cases — are people 60-plus.

Almost a third of all cases, 128, are residents of long-term care homes or retirement residences. Twenty-eight of the region’s deaths are residents from a home.

The region has COVID-19 outbreaks in care homes at Albright Manor in Lincoln, Royal Rose Place in Welland, Lundy Manor in Niagara Falls, and Seasons in Welland.

Niagara Health says its hospitals are connected to 27 of the region’s new coronavirus deaths.

On Tuesday, St. Catharines General revealed a third outbreak at an inpatient unit after a patient acquired the virus while at the hospital.

The following day, April 22, public health declared one of the three outbreaks at the hospital over.

Haldimand-Norfolk with 28 deaths connected to the new coronavirus

Haldimand-Norfolk Health Unit (HNHU) is reporting 167 lab-confirmed COVID-19 cases as of April 22.

The region’s total number of reported deaths rose by two since Monday to 28.

Anson Place Retirement / Nursing Home accounts for 24 deaths in the region, with another reported by the facility on Tuesday.

The remaining deaths were related to individuals residing in the community, according to public health.

Halton Region has 447 novel coronavirus cases

On Wednesday, Halton Region reported 447 confirmed new coronavirus cases with 53 considered probable cases, according to public health.

There are nine institutional outbreaks at four retirement homes, three long-term care homes, Central West group home, and Joseph Brant hospital.

Seventy-one of the region’s cases are connected to retirement and long-term care homes with the Mountainview in Halton Hills accounting for 63 of those cases. Nine people have died at the retirement home.

Nine of the region’s 16 reported deaths connected to the virus lived in an institution.

Public health says 188 cases have recovered as of April 20.

Brant County with 78 COVID-19 cases

Brant County’s health unit reported 78 confirmed cases of COVID-19 as of Wednesday with five currently hospitalized with the virus.

The region has three deaths.

Fifty of the region’s positive cases have been resolved.

The county has no current institutional outbreaks.

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

Health officials caution against all international travel. Returning travellers are legally obligated to self-isolate for 14 days, beginning March 26, in case they develop symptoms and to prevent spreading the virus to others. Some provinces and territories have also implemented additional recommendations or enforcement measures to ensure those returning to the area self-isolate.

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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