There have been four outbreaks in long term care homes in Lambton in the past two days.

Lambton Public Health announced Saturday Afton Park Place in Sarnia is now in outbreak with one staff member at the long term care home testing positive for COVID-19.

Yesterday, The County of Lambton revealed there was an outbreak at Petrolia’s Meadowview Villa on the Finch Lane unit. One staff member who had last been in the home Dec. 29 involved in direct patient care tested positive. Today, Lambton Public Health says another worker at Meadowview has also tested positive.

At North Lambton Lodge, a resident went to hospital several days ago tested positive for COVID-19 there. An outbreak has been declared on the Pine Lane Unit in the Forest home, however there have been no other cases.

And two staff members at Village on the St. Clair Retirement Home in Sarnia tested positive for COVID-19 Dec. 31.

There are also outbreaks at Trillium Villa in Sarnia, where two staff members were ill and Vision Nursing Home where one resident was ill. All six outbreaks in long term care have been declared in the last two weeks.

Public health officials declare an outbreak in long term care when one person – either resident or staff member – tests positive for COVID-19 because the respiratory virus has been so deadly in the elderly.

Of the 4,625 people who have died of COVID-19 in Ontario, 2,749 of them have been in long term care.

In all, there are 19 outbreaks in Lambton. Two are in schools, according to Lambton Public Health – another 11 are in workplaces.

Lambton officials released two days of data on the outbreak Saturday morning showing 120 more people tested positive for the virus. There are now six patients in hospital with the virus.

The province released data for two days this morning. In all there were 2,476 people test positive for COVID-19 Friday and 3,363 on Saturday – another new plateau in the province’s battle with the virus.