KITCHENER -- Kitchener’s Forest Heights Long Term Care Home remains one of nineteen senior’s homes on the province's COVID-19 watch list.
According to the Region's Acting Medical Officer of Health Dr. Hsiu-li Wang, there is a high risk of an outbreak at the facility.
“We have classified Forest Heights as a red home," she said.
Since April, 50 residents at Forest Heights have passed away due to the virus, 174 have tested positive, and 68 staff have also contracted the virus.
Dr. Wang says the virus has been extremely difficult to contain at this location.
“With these very large scale outbreaks, it is very difficult to quickly bring under control,” she added.
Last month, a health response team was assembled, where it was decided to move several residents to area hospitals in an attempt to improve physical distancing within the facility.
Additional staff, sanitation, and personal protective equipment protocols were also added as the virus continued to move throughout the facility.
“It continues to require significant resources from health system partners," says Wang.
Officials from Revera, the company that operates Forest Heights, said in a statement to CTV News that they are doing everything they can to stem the viruses spread.
“We hired 28 new employees and we are still getting some staffing support. We can confirm that provincial inspectors have already been in to complete an inspection of the home and we have regular ongoing calls with the ministry."
Trinity Village in Waterloo, where 18residents died from COVID-19, is the other senior’s home in the region that the province is watching closely.
It's classified as a yellow, which means it has a medium risk of an outbreak.
