LONDON, ONT -- Some residents of Cedarcroft Place will be moved over the next few days to local area hospitals to help manage the outbreak at the Stratford retirement home.

Andrew Williams, President and CEO of Huron Perth Healthcare Alliance (HPHA) says that several area partners are working together to secure staffing at the home to provide the level of care needed.

“While the staff from Cedarcroft, HPHA and the LHIN (Local Health Integration Network) have been phenomenal over the past few days, we need to reduce the number of residents in the facility and ensure enough staffing for those who remain. We’ve also been well supported by HPPH and EMS. ”

HPHA say they are working closely with partners on the moving plan, including which residents will be moved. At this time, affected residents and families are being contacted by Cedarcroft Place.

Huron-Perth saw an explosion of case numbers last weekend with 34 positive tests, almost all of them in residents and staff at Cedarcroft Place Retirement Residence in Stratford.

“It is the largest outbreak that we’ve had, and I know it’s very distressing to the staff at Cedarcroft that are doing their best, and I know it’s distressing here for staff at the health unit, who want to see this outbreak come under control quickly,” says Dr.Miriam Klassen, the medical officer of health for Huron and Perth counties, on Tuesday.

Effective 12:01 a.m., Monday Nov. 16, Huron Perth Public Health Unit region will be in the YELLOW-PROTECT level of the provincial COVID-19 response framework. Learn more about what this means for Huron-Perth.