More COVID-19 deaths at Almonte care home, Ottawa cases increase

Coronavirus-related deaths at a care home west of Ottawa continueto mount Monday, asdo the number of confirmed cases in Ottawa.

Two more people at Almonte Country Haven have died after contracting COVID-19, theowners of the private home said Monday, raising the total number of deaths thereto 16.

"My heart goes out to the families and our entire care team as we grapple with these losses together," wroteCarolyn Della Foresta, the home's administrator,in an email to CBC.

Della Foresta said the health and safetyof residents remains their top priority, adding that staff havethe personal protective equipment they require to do their jobs.

"I am entirely confident in the abilities and knowledge of our staff and in the sufficiency of our staffing to meet resident needs," she wrote.

There have also beenat least 11 deaths in Ottawa from COVID-19, and two more in the wider region.

Ottawa cases rise Monday

Ottawa Public Health (OPH) reported another 25 confirmed cases of COVID-19 Easter Monday, with no new deaths.

That brings the city's total to 586 lab-confirmed cases, with about one-third of these caseslisted as recovered, around the same ratio as yesterday.

Last Monday, OPH said ithad 370 cases.

The health agency trackscases based primarily on when patients first experienced symptoms, rather than on the date they tested positive, which accounts for certain discrepancies in its figures.

Officials havealso confirmed a new COVID-19 case at the Waterford Retirement Community on Bank Street near Hunt Club Road.

Region tops 1,100 cases

Eastern Ontario and western Quebec now have more than 1,100 confirmed cases, although no new cases in western Quebec have been confirmedtoday.

Confirmed cases are just a snapshot because of the limits of testing. There are likely thousands more.

From what we know, nearly 275 people in the region have recovered. Some local health units don't share this number.

On Monday,Canada surpassed 25,000 COVID-19 cases