Journal staff
Lambton Public Health is now reporting 68 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Sarnia-Lambton, along with seven deaths.
Of those deaths, four have been confirmed to be residents from Landmark Village seniors home in Sarnia, where an outbreak of the virus has infected five staff and nine residents, The Health Unit confirmed, Thursday.
Three new cases reported Thursday are staff members of the retirement home, said Dr. Sudit Ranade, Lambton’s Medical Officer of Health.
Three area workplaces are also under investigation for potential transmission, he said.
Ranade declined to say whether the sites are retail or office settings.
“We’re still investigating the nature of those exposures and whether or not they present a meaningful risk.”
Currently 26 infected patients are being treated at Bluewater Health, while another 19 patients believed to be infected are awaiting test results, according to the hospital’s COVID-19 information site, updated Friday. A total of 132 tests conducted in hospital have resulted in 38 positive and 78 negative results.
The hospital has 16 ventilators in the ICU and 26 in total. A regional warehouse has more if demand increases.
Lambton’s Medical Officer of Health said the arrival of the virus in Sarnia-Lambton and its transmission within the community are still under investigation.
It has said some early cases are linked to group travel to Europe, family and faith community gatherings, and “a limited number of occupational settings.”
“Until we can verify there is actual meaningful evidence of transmission in those settings, it’s very difficult to confirm that that might be true,” Dr. Sudit Ranade said this week.
A total of 361 tests have been conducted locally, Lambton Public Health said.
Ontario recorded more than 460 new cases overnight, totalling 3,255. The province says 67 people have now died from the virus.