1,619 people likely caught COVID-19 in B.C. hospitals and 274 of them have died
For the first time, B.C.’s Ministry of Health has provided information about people who likely caught COVID-19 after going to acute care settings for medical treatment or work, with 1,619 getting the virus and 274 of them dying.
The B.C. Centre for Disease Control has compiled a report, which is intentionally vague in parts, outlining the time frame and location of the outbreaks. To protect privacy, when the number of affected people is five or fewer, they simply mark an “x," so only 1,533 cases and 189 deaths can be pinpointed in the document; the more accurate grand total was provided by a Ministry of Health spokesperson.
The information was aggregated and released weeks after CTV News asked for detailed accounting on how many people were infected while getting medical treatment. The medical term for hospital-acquired infections is “nosocomial transmission,” and does not appear in any documents available from health authorities or the ministry.
All the deaths from COVID-19 acquired in hospital were patients, and no staff members died as a result. Roughly two-thirds of the infections were in patients, the rest in “staff/other.”
SOME HOSPITALS SAW REPEAT OUTBREAKS, OTHERS JUST ONE
Nine acute care outbreaks are still underway, including the fifth and sixth for Abbotsford Regional Hospital, where at least 53 people are believed to have contracted the virus. At least four of them have died.
At Burnaby Hospital, at least 188 people who went to the hospital for medical care or worked there got COVID-19 and four died during 14 separate outbreaks, one of which is still underway. At least 147 got sick and 18 died at Surrey Memorial across 15 outbreaks. Lions Gate Hospital has seen a total of 126 infected, 28 of whom have died, while the University Hospital of Northern B.C. has had at least 81 cases and 11 deaths.
“Outbreaks are declared at the discretion of the regional Medical Health Officer,” reads the BCCDC report.
For weeks, the Fraser Health and Vancouver Coastal Health authorities have rebuffed efforts to provide the outbreak data or speak with the deputy medical health officers responsible for supervising outbreaks in acute care settings. CTV News made several attempts to discuss the issue with health officials after a Freedom of Information request for documents outlining how hospital outbreaks unfolded and what was done to prevent more were met with mostly blank pages from the former, and zero from the latter.
B.C. HEALTH OFFICIALS CONTINUE TO RESTRICT PANDEMIC INFORMATION
B.C. began releasing information about long-term care and assisted living outbreaks after intense public pressure for transparency on those cases last year, but has resisted proactive disclosure of pandemic-related information on other fronts.
In September, the Ministry of Health came under intense criticism after refusing to reveal the total number of patients in B.C. hospitals due to COVID-19; the province regularly publishes statistics for those considered to still be contagious and therefore a risk to others.
Despite promising to provide weekly totals of both infectious and non-infectious COVID-19 patients, which would better reflect the impact the pandemic is having on the health-care system, health officials have not done so. B.C.'s provincial health officer later said “a semblance” of those statistics would be available.
In the spring, the BCCDC followed through on a promise to provide regular neighbourhood-level data on coronavirus infections and vaccination rates after someone leaked internal documents with the information to Postmedia.
CTV News asked to speak with the provincial health officer or head of the BCCDC to discuss nosocomial transmission, but was told neither was available.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'Still so much love between us,' Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
What to know about avian influenza in dairy cows and the risk to humans
Why is H5N1, or bird flu, a concern, how does it spread, and is there a vaccine? Here are the answers to some frequently asked questions about avian influenza.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
opinion The special relationship between King Charles and the Princess of Wales
Royal commentator Afua Hagan writes that when King Charles recently admitted Catherine to the Order of the Companions of Honour, it not only made history, but it reinforced the strong bond between the King and his beloved daughter-in-law.
Pro-plastic lobbyist presence at UN talks is 'troubling,' say advocates
Environmentalist groups are sounding the alarm about a steep increase in the number of pro-plastic lobbyists at the UN pollution talks taking place this week.
'Too young to have breast cancer': Rates among young Canadian women rising
Breast cancer rates are rising in Canada among women in their 20s, 30s and 40s, according to research by the University of Ottawa (uOttawa).
Charlie Woods, son of Tiger, shoots 81 in U.S. Open qualifier
Charlie Woods failed to advance in a U.S. Open local qualifying event Thursday, shooting a 9-over 81 at Legacy Golf & Tennis Club.
$70M Lotto Max winners kept prize a secret from family for 2 months
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Trump's lawyers grill ex-tabloid publisher as 1st week of hush money trial testimony nears a close
After prosecutors' lead witness painted a tawdry portrait of “catch-and-kill” tabloid schemes, defence lawyers in Donald Trump's criminal trial on Friday sought to dig into an account of the former publisher of the National Enquirer and his efforts to protect Trump from negative stories during the 2016 election.