3 more outbreaks at B.C. care homes as province rolls out COVID-19 booster shots
Three new outbreaks of COVID-19 have been declared at care homes in the Lower Mainland this weekend.
On Saturday, Vancouver Coastal Health announced that two residents of Amica Lions Gate in West Vancouver had tested positive for the coronavirus.
The private care facility is owned and operated by Amica Senior Lifestyles, but the health authority is assisting with its outbreak response.
Then, on Sunday, Fraser Health announced new outbreaks at Heritage Village in Chilliwack and Queen's Park Care Centre in New Westminster.
Both facilities are owned and operated by Fraser Health.
One resident and one staff member at Heritage Village and two residents at Queen's Park have tested positive.
All three care homes are now closed to admissions, and enhanced infection control measures have been put in place at each location.
This is the first time an outbreak has been declared at Amica Lions Gate.
Heritage Village saw a COVID-19 outbreak declared on Aug. 17 of this year. It ended a few weeks later on Sept. 4. According to data from the B.C. Centre for Disease Control, five people tested positive during that outbreak, four of them staff members. No deaths were associated with the outbreak.
Queen's Park Care Centre is now on its third outbreak of the pandemic, having seen a single staff member test positive in October 2020 during its first and 14 cases - 10 residents and four staff - during its second outbreak in November of that year. Four residents died during the second outbreak, according to the BCCDC.
The latest outbreaks bring B.C.'s total to at least 22. There were 19 ongoing outbreaks in the province's health-care system as of Friday.
The outbreaks come as B.C. rolls out booster doses of COVID-19 vaccines for care home residents, and as the death toll from a major outbreak in Burnaby increases.
As of last week, 90 people associated with Willingdon Care Centre - 69 residents and 21 staff members - had tested positive.
On Thursday, Health Minister Adrian Dix called the outbreak the "most significant" in the province, and noted that at least 10 deaths had been recorded.
"That's a significant tragedy at the Willingdon Care Centre and for everyone involved there," Dix said. "What that tells us is all the steps that (provincial health officer) Dr. (Bonnie) Henry has described are needed to continue to protect long-term care."
Those steps, according to Henry, include booster shots for residents, vaccine mandates for staff and visitors, and non-immunization precautions such as masks, distancing and avoiding large gatherings in close proximity with others.
Willingdon Care Centre has 95 beds, according to the Fraser Health website, meaning more than 70 per cent of residents are infected.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'Nonsense:' Doug Ford slams lawsuits filed by Ontario school boards against social media platforms
Premier Doug Ford says that lawsuits launched by four Ontario school boards against a trio of social media platforms are “nonsense” and risk becoming a distraction to the work that really matters.
Several flight attendants from Pakistan have gone missing after landing in Canada
Multiple flight attendants from Pakistan International Airlines have abandoned their jobs and are believed to have sought asylum in Canada in the past year and a half, a spokesperson for the government-owned airline says.
Tipping is off the table at this Toronto restaurant
A Toronto restaurant introduced a surprising new rule that reduced the cost of a meal and raised the salaries of staff.
Rainfall warnings of up to 90 mm among weather alerts in effect for 7 provinces
Rainfall warnings of up to 90 millimetres, air quality advisories and other alerts have been issued for seven Canadian provinces, according to the latest forecasts.
Gangs netting up to US$3 trillion a year as Southeast Asia human trafficking becomes a global crisis, Interpol says
Human trafficking-fuelled fraud is exploding in Southeast Asia with organized crime rings raking in close to US$3 trillion in illicit revenue annually, the head of Interpol has said in comments that reveal the huge profits being earned by cartels.
Canada Post’s newest stamp features special cookies for Islamic holiday
Canada Post’s newest specialty stamps feature “melt-in-your-mouth” desserts to mark two Islamic festivals, the crown corporation announced Thursday.
King Charles calls for acts of friendship in first public remarks since Kate's cancer diagnosis
King Charles III gave public remarks for Maundy Thursday, addressing the importance of acts of friendship, following his and Catherine, Princess of Wales’ cancer diagnoses.
A dog and a bird formed an unlikely friendship. Their separation has infuriated followers
Peggy is a stout and muscular Staffordshire bull terrier, and Molly is a magpie, an Australian bird best known for swooping on humans during breeding season, not for befriending dogs. But in an emotional video posted online, Peggy’s owners announced that the animals had been separated.
Statistics Canada reports real GDP up 0.6 per cent in January as Quebec strikes end
Canada's real gross domestic product grew 0.6 per cent in January, helped by the end of public sector strikes in Quebec in November and December, Statistics Canada said Thursday.