KITCHENER -- It's been a long time coming, but the COVID-19 outbreak at Forest Heights Revera has finally been declared over.
First declared on April 1, it was the longest-running and most severe outbreak in Waterloo Region's long-term care and retirement homes.
Since it began, 51 people lost their lives to the virus. In total, 178 residents and 73 staff members tested positive for COVID-19.
There is still one active outbreak in Waterloo Region, at Sunnyside Home, where one resident and four staff members have tested positive for the virus. This is Sunnyside Home's third outbreak, the region's website shows.
The news of Forest Heights Revera's outbreak ending came as Region of Waterloo Public Health officials reported six new cases of the virus, bringing the total here to 1,299.
That number includes 1,094 resolved cases and 116 deaths, leaving 89 active cases.
The region also reported that more than 1,000 new tests had been done, bringing the total to 34,418.
Testing numbers will now be updated on Tuesdays and Fridays, the same day as the region does its media briefings.
Fourteen people are currently in hospital with COVID-19. That's two more than the number reported on Monday.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, 236 people have been hospitalized for the virus in Waterloo Region, with 57 of those needing hospitalization in the ICU.
Across the province, 157 new infections were confirmed, a steep drop from the 257 new cases reported on Monday.
Twenty-seven of Ontario's 34 public health units reported five or fewer cases on Tuesday. Notably, Waterloo Region is one of the seven that reported more than five.
There are now 35,068 confirmed cases in the province, including 30,344 recoveries and 2,672 deaths.
