LANCASTER, Ontario – During an update to South Stormont Council, Dr. Paul Roumeliotis, Medical officer of Health with the Eastern Ontario Health Unit (EOHU), painted a grim picture of the situation at the Lancaster Long Term Care Residence in Lancaster, South Glengarry which is experiencing a COVID-19 outbreak.
The update on this particular long term care facility came in response to a question from Councillor Jennifer MacIsaac.
“Looking at long term care homes, specifically the one in Lancaster, it has really moved up the charts,” said MacIsaac. “They are now second in per cent of positive residents in the province, and tenth in number of residents infected.”
Dr. Roumeliotis said that out of the 47 residents at the facility, 40 had tested positive for COVID-19, as well as 16 staff members.
“We have been in there several times. Ontario Health has been involved, the LHIN (Local Health Integration Network) has been involved. Some patients have been transferred to palliative care in Ottawa, unfortunately,” he said.
Dr. Roumeliotis said that the Red Cross had been deployed to the facility to offer help as Personal Support Workers.
There have been two deaths at the facility. Dr. Roumeliotis said that he was having daily meetings with the administration of the long term care home.
“This is tragic, but it is not dissimilar to what we’ve seen to other homes in our area. All of a sudden, it grabs people. That is why we are so worried about one person getting it and it getting in. It spreads like wildfire,” he said.
At time of writing, there are 13 long-term care facilities in the EOHU region.
On Wednesday, Jan. 13 the first doses of the Pfizer-BionTech COVID-19 vaccine began distribution in the EOHU region with long-term care facility residents and staff being at the top of the list of receipients.
