HALIFAX -- Eight more residents and one more staff member at a long-term care facility in Halifax have tested positive for COVID-19.
A total of 16 residents and 10 staff members at Northwood’s Halifax campus have now tested positive for the coronavirus, according to a statement posted on its website Monday.
In the statement, Northwood says all affected residents have been transferred to a treatment floor on Beech River, 11 Manor, where they will receive specialized treatment as required.
Northwood says the treatment floor has a higher staffing ratio per resident and the medical director and nurse practitioner are overseeing medical care.
The floors that are impacted are as follows:
- 10 residents from Chestnut Lake – 1 Centre
- 1 resident from Cedar Lake – 3 Centre
- 1 resident from Alder Shore – 6 Centre
- 1 resident from Birch Bay – 7 Centre
- 1 resident from Pine Bay – 8 Centre
- 1 resident from Evergreen Ocean – 5 Manor
- 1 resident from Linden Haven – 7 Manor
Northwood says all residents are in stable condition, with symptoms ranging from very mild to moderate.
Ten staff members have also tested positive and are displaying very mild to moderate symptoms.
Northwood also says it is able to do its own COVID-19 testing for residents and staff, and testing anyone with symptoms, as well as close contacts.
Angela Downey, a continuing care assistant and the business agent for the Unifor local at Northwood, says the spread of the virus through nursing homes in the province is likely to expose underlying weaknesses in staffing levels.
She says she fears there could be shortages of workers as the illness spreads and continuing care assistants cannot report for their shifts.
Unifor represents the majority of the continuing care assistants, the front-line workers who care for the residents' daily needs, at the non-profit facility.
"As it is, there is a staffing issue in all long-term care," she said in an interview.
A spokesperson for the facility said members of the executive at Northwood were unavailable for comment.
Downey said that it's not uncommon for a unit with over 30 residents to have three continuing care assistants to look after their daily needs, and if they fall ill, it becomes increasingly difficult to provide the necessary care.
More equipment is needed to prevent that from occurring, she added.
"Having one (surgical) mask a day isn't sufficient, especially when you're doing day-to-day care," she said, adding that staff only receive an additional mask if the one they're using becomes soiled.
Northwood is the largest not-for-profit continuing care organization in Atlantic Canada.
