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Woman in her 60s the latest confirmed COVID-19 case in Timmins area

An outbreak has been declared at the Golden Manor
2020-03-05 Golden Manor MH
The Golden Manor in Timmins. Maija Hoggett/TimminsToday

A woman in her 60s is the 62nd COVID-19 case confirmed by the Porcupine Health Unit (PHU).

According to the PHU, the case is part of the outbreak declared at the Golden Manor yesterday. She was tested May 2.

"All residents and staff were tested on the weekend as part of the COVID-19 surveillance testing in long-term care homes supported by the PHU across the region. The case is currently practicing self-isolation. The risk of infection in the long-term care home remains low," reads a PHU news release.

When the outbreak was declared last night, the health unit said the resident who tested positive didn't have symptoms.

There have been 62 confirmed cases of the virus in the health unit's region. Of those, 48 cases are resolved and four people have died. 

The health unit is aware of 2,476 tests being done locally, which is an increase of 168 from the last report. There are currently 333 tests under investigation.

The Ministry of Health requires an outbreak to be declared when one positive case is confirmed in a resident or staff. 

The outbreak at the manor is the fourth active one in the city right now. The others are at Timmins and District Hospital, St. Mary's Gardens, and Spruce Hill Lodge.

Extendicare Timmins was the first facility to have an outbreak declared, but it has been declared over.

All residents and staff at the Golden Manor were tested over the weekend as part of the provincial surveillance program of the facilities.

There are 10 long-term care homes in the PHU region.

According to the health unit, they have completed 678 tests at four of the facilities so far. Testing at the other facilities is scheduled for later this week and next. The health unit expects local testing to be done by the provincial May 15 deadline.

There are COVID-19 Assessment centres in Timmins, Cochrane, Iroquois Falls, Kapuskasing, Smooth Rock Falls, Hearst and Hornepayne. They are by appointment only and you must be referred by your primary healthcare provider or the health unit.

The PHU COVID-19 hotline is open weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. It can be reached at 705-267-1181 or 1-800-461-1818.

The health unit is doing expanded testing on people with milder symptoms for a limited time.

The expanded list of symptoms includes cough, fever, and difficulty breathing as well as sore throat/hoarse voice, difficulty swallowing, loss of smell or taste, fatigue, muscle aches, runny nose, loss of appetite, diarrhea, and nausea or vomiting.