TORONTO -- Seventeen more residents and staff have tested positive for COVID-19 at the city’s largest homeless shelter.
Officials confirmed Friday that there are now 43 cases at Seaton House, up from the 26 infections reported last week. An outbreak at the shelter was first declared on Jan. 21.
The city said none of the cases have tested positive for a variant of concern.
“Clients who have tested positive or are high-risk close contacts have been sent to a dedicated isolation/recovery site with supports. There remains additional capacity in the isolation/recovery site,” the city said in a news release.
The city added that site-wide testing is being conducted at the shelter. Capacity at Seaton House, one of the oldest homeless shelters in Toronto, was reduced from 500 to 200 early on in the pandemic to ensure physical distancing is being followed.
Three other shelters are also dealing with an active outbreak of COVID-19 – Dixon Hall with 24 cases, Warden Woods Community Centre – Respite Services with 18 cases, and Salvation Army with eight cases.
As of Friday, there have been 839 cases of COVID-19 linked to shelter outbreaks since the beginning of the pandemic.
