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The administrator at the Bobcaygeon, Ont., nursing home battling a coronavirus outbreak delivered some “hopeful news” Monday, reporting no new deaths for the fourth consecutive day.

On Monday afternoon, Mary Carr, administrator at the Pinecrest Nursing Home, said the facility is “fortunate” to report no new deaths. The coronavirus outbreak — which was declared last month — has claimed the lives of 29 residents and a spouse of a resident. It’s the deadliest outbreak in Ontario, health officials say.

“Our front-line staff continue to monitor all residents carefully and are diligently working to provide the highest quality care and comfort to our residents,” stated Carr. “I want to thank our staff again for continuing to serve our community and our residents with dedication and kindness.”

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Last week, the Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit reported 28 staff at the 65-bed facility had also tested positive for COVID-19.

To assist the facility, the province secured the services of Extendicare Assist, a services management company, which has a team working inside the facility in the village of 3,500 people, located 50 kilometres north of Peterborough.

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“We have daily conversations with Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit and the Ministry of Health to ensure all new and ongoing care directives are implemented and that our staff have a clear understanding of these directions,” said Carr.

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Visitation to the facility has been restricted since March 14 and a facility-wide outbreak was declared on March 18 after initial tests revealed three residents had tested positive for COVID-19.

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“In following our provincial outbreak guidelines, we did not do any additional tests on residents as we already had confirmation the virus was in the home,” Dr. Lynn Noseworthy, the health unit’s medical officer of health stated on March 26.

The health unit reported the facility’s first death on March 24.

Last month, Dr. Michelle Snarr, the facility’s medical director, called the outbreak a “war zone.”

Carr says the latest update is “hopeful news” for the community. To date more than $100,000 has been raised for the Bobcaygeon Relief Fund.

“I know that this update is hopeful news for the community and we continue to receive messages of love and encouragement,” she said. “We will not forget the outpouring of support from the community and look forward to getting through this together.”

On Monday, Ontario reported 421 new cases of the novel coronavirus and 17 additional deaths, bringing the provincial total to 7,470 confirmed cases of COVID-19.

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