STRATFORD, ONT. -- An outbreak of COVID-19 that began at a Stratford retirement home back on Oct. 27, is still going on. It’s getting better, but the senior’s home isn’t out of the woods, yet.
“It’s very frustrating,” says Huron-Perth’s Medical Officer of Health, Miriam Klassen. “It is a good illustration of how easily this virus transmits among vulnerable populations, and especially in close settings,” she says.
Fifty residents, and 24 staff have contracted COVID-19 at Cedarcroft since the outbreak began, over a month ago. Twelve residents have died, and five are currently in hospital. There are still three active cases among staff members.
In mid-November, Cedarcroft residents like Bob Sharen were sent to area hospitals because there weren’t enough staff at Cedarcroft to care for them.
“Before they were able to move a lot of the residents out, there was an incident where he waited five hours to get assistance to go to the washroom,” recounts a frustrated Andrew Sharen, Bob’s son.
Sharen is even more frustrated by the lack of information. He says he’s been learning developments about his own father, by watching the news.
“Sometimes it’s multiple call to get, OK we’ll call you back. And then multiple days go by, and we’re finding out information that’s outdated,” he says.
After several weeks at the Stratford hospital, which included sharing a room with a COVID-19 patient, Bob Sharen is back at Cedarcroft. He was moved Sunday morning, where he’ll spend the next 14 days in isolation.
“It seems like it might be a situation that could just reignite this there, all over again,” fears Sharen.
Sharen says he knows families across Canada are dealing with exactly the same issues, but that doesn’t make it any less frustrating.
“Who is the person that is ultimately responsible for communicating with the families as a liaison. Because, there’s so many agencies acting together, where you go for that information,” he says.
