The last month has been the most deadly of the year for COVID deaths, containing more than 30 per cent of the year’s posted fatalities due to the infection, according to statistics posted by the Brant County Health Unit.
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In the last four weeks, the health unit says 12 people from Brantford or Brant have died due to the virus.
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That represents 31 per cent of the 39 COVID deaths that have been reported in 2023.
Two of those who died were over 100, two were in their 90s, five in their 80s, two in their 70s and one woman was in her 50s.
The health unit also added three additional deaths from 2022 that were discovered in a retrospective data initiative.
Four of the recent deaths were associated with outbreaks at St. Joseph’s Lifecare.
Two were during an outbreak declared over on Nov. 6, although their deaths were posted at the end of November and may have occurred later.
Another two deaths were part of an outbreak at the long-term care facility that began Nov. 24 and ended Dec. 11. That outbreak involved eight residents and six staff members.
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At the same time, there was an outbreak at the Brantford General Hospital that involved five patients where one of them died.
On its web-page, the health unit continues to urge those who have COVID to self-isolate, staying home until they have no fever and symptoms have improved for at least 24 hours. It says people should wear a mask when in public for 10 days after their symptoms began.
“The mitigation efforts we’ve been doing to stay safe – including staying home and isolating when we’re sick and keeping up with our COVID-19 vaccines – continue to be our best defense,” said Dr. Rebecca Comley, Brant’s medical officer of health.
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