The death of 31 residents at Orchard Villa Retirement Home has “shattered” the community, says Pickering Deputy Mayor.

“We have lost too many friends, family members, and loved ones to these terrible circumstances,” Kevin Ashe said in a statemnent Wednesday.

“There are simply no adequate words to express the depth of our sorrow. Our thoughts and prayers go out to all of the deceased, and the family and friends they have left behind.”

The 31 deaths happened in a relatively short time, as the home had reported four deaths last week.

At his daily press briefing Wednesday, Premier Doug Ford and Minister of Long-Term Care Dr. Merrilee Fullerton announced the province is asking the federal government for help by having Canadian Armed services personnel help at five long-term care facilities.

When asked which five, Fullerton said the teams would be moved around as needed.

“The military assistance will go to homes that need them,” she said.

Ford also announced that all residents in long-term care will be tested for COVID-19.

Of the 74 deaths in Durham to COVID-19, 61 have been in long-term care homes or retirement homes.

Durham Region issued an order to Orchard Village to address the risk to residents and staff under the Ontario Health Protection and Promotion Act. It requires Southbridge Care Homes Inc., operators of the facility, to enhance measures to protect residents and staff.

“We recognize that this is a very tragic, difficult and stressful time for residents and their families, as well as staff at Orchard Villa, and we know that staff are truly concerned for the safety and well-being of everyone at this home,” Dr. Robert Kyle said Wednesday in a statement.

“The Health Department and Lakeridge Health will work very closely with Orchard Villa to provide the necessary supports to help decrease or eliminate the risks to health associated with the current COVID-19 outbreak.”

In addition to the deaths, there have been 183 confirmed cases, two hospitalizations, 150 have been isolated and three cases have been resolved at the 233-bed facility.

Measures that have to be followed are:

active screening of residents, staff and visitors;

active and ongoing surveillance of all residents;

active and ongoing oversight of the delivery of clinical care;

screening for new admissions;

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managing essential visitors;

changes to when an outbreak of COVID-19 is declared at a home, including when it is over;

specimen collection and testing for outbreak management

implementation of all of the above measures including the adoption and implementation of Infection Prevention and Control.

“These unprecedented times have created unprecedented challenges. We approached Lakeridge Health for assistance, and we are grateful they have answered our call,” Ryan Bell, the chief executive officer of Southbridge, said in a statement.

“Our focus is to deliver the best possible care and keep our residents safe. We welcome the help of our health care partners.”

Lakeridge Health will lead the monitoring, investigating and responding to the outbreak at the facility.

“Lakeridge Health’s expert infection prevention and control, and clinical teams, who have significant experience in treating COVID patients, will be heading to Orchard Villa immediately,” said Susan deRyk, interim president and CEO at Lakeridge.

“Today we will be investigating the current state of the outbreak and developing an operational plan to provide care and treatment to support the best outcomes for residents.”

Infection Prevention and Control and clinical teams from Lakeridge Health, who are trained in responding to communicable disease outbreaks, will work with Orchard Villa to immediately assess the situation at the home and determine what additional care services are required. The goal is to put in place appropriate solutions to limit the risk of transmission and protect resident and staff safety.

“This is a very tragic, difficult time for the residents, families, and staff at Orchard Villa,” Peter Bethlenfalvy, MPP for Pickering-Uxbridge, said in a statement.

“My heart breaks for them. We must spare no expense to tackle this global pandemic and protect the most vulnerable members of our community. We have been working with our health partners to redeploy resources that will enable Lakeridge Health to address infection control and resident care at Orchard Villa immediately.”