Hamilton, Ont., reported eight more cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday for a local total of 468 cases.

Four hundred and sixty-two are confirmed positive cases of the coronavirus with seven probable cases.

There have now been 23 deaths connected to COVID-19 in Hamilton, according to public health.

The two new deaths were an 81-year-old man at Cardinal Retirement Residences and an 83-year-old man at St. Peter’s Hospital. Both passed away on May 4.

On Wednesday, the city reported 12 outbreaks with the latest at Wentworth Lodge, where three residents tested positive for coronavirus.

Institutional outbreaks continue at three long-term care homes (Heritage Green, Wentworth Lodge and Dundurn Place Care Centre), and two retirement residences (St. Elizabeth’s Villa and St. Joseph’s Villa).

Also on the list are four hospitals with two areas of the Charlton campus and an area at the West 5th campus of St. Joseph’s reporting outbreaks. Hamilton Health Science’s outbreak at St. Peter’s hospital on Maplewood Avenue has ten cases of COVID-19.

The city’s other outbreaks are at Hamilton-Wentworth Detention Centre, Barrett Centre for Crisis Support and I.H. Mission Services.

Nine weeks into the global pandemic, Hamilton’s emergency operations centre director says facilities with congregate settings continue to be in difficult circumstances on a number of fronts.

“All of those places are not well set up to deal with infection control,” said Paul Johnson, “And that’s one of the reasons why you see a considerable amount of effort being put into keeping these places safe.”

Johnson says the makeshift shelter at First Ontario Centre is averaging close to capacity at 75 per night but is providing help to other shelters in the city.

“I think it’s served its purpose, recognizing we were dealing with the emergency shelter system that was oversubscribed before this pandemic and we had to make some quick decisions about how to lower the numbers in each of those physical spaces,” Johnson told Global News.

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Hamilton hospitals have 25 patients in care units — 16 at Hamilton Health Sciences and nine at St. Joseph’s hospitals.

The health unit reports that 366 of the city’s 460 cases — or 65 per cent — of COVID-19 have been resolved.

Niagara Region reports eleven new COVID-19 cases, one more death

Seventy-three of the region’s cases have been connected to residents or patients in an institutional outbreak.

Brant County reports 99 COVID-19 cases

Brant County’s health unit reported no new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday. The region has 99 confirmed cases.

The county has three outbreaks at Briarwood Gardens retirement home, Telfer Place long-term care and St. Joseph’s Lifecare Centre.

The region has three deaths and 78 resolved cases.

Questions about COVID-19? Here are some things you need to know:

Symptoms can include fever, cough and difficulty breathing — very similar to a cold or flu. Some people can develop a more severe illness. People most at risk of this include older adults and people with severe chronic medical conditions like heart, lung or kidney disease. If you develop symptoms, contact public health authorities.

To prevent the virus from spreading, experts recommend frequent handwashing and coughing into your sleeve. They also recommend minimizing contact with others, staying home as much as possible and maintaining a distance of two metres from other people if you go out.

For full COVID-19 coverage from Global News, click here.

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