3 more COVID-19 outbreaks declared in Kelowna care homes

Vancouver -

Three more care homes in Kelowna are dealing with outbreaks of COVID-19, Interior Health announced Thursday.

There are now seven active outbreaks in the region, five of them in the Kelowna area, which has been the epicentre of the province's recent surge in coronavirus cases.

The latest facilities to have outbreaks are David Lloyd Jones long-term care, Hawthorn Park assisted- and independent-living and Village at Mill Creek long-term care.

The outbreaks at Hawthorn Park and David Lloyd Jones were declared on Wednesday, and apply to the entire facilities, according to the Interior Health website. 

The Village at Mill Creek outbreak was declared Thursday and is limited to the facility's second floor. Two people - one resident and one staff member - had tested positive in the outbreak as of Thursday afternoon, according to Interior Health.

There are currently three cases - two residents and one staff member - associated with the David Lloyd Jones outbreak, and four cases - one resident and three staff members - associated with the Hawthorn Park outbreak.

The three latest outbreaks were not included in the Ministry of Health's latest update on the COVID-19 pandemic Thursday afternoon. Their addition to the list means there are now a total of at least 11 coronavirus outbreaks in long-term care, assisted-living and independent-living facilities in B.C. 

As recently as mid-July, there were no active outbreaks in B.C. care homes. That has changed rapidly as caseloads in the Interior and around the province have surged. 

Health officials have attributed the surge to people who are not yet fully vaccinated - who made up 94 per cent of infections in the most recent report from the B.C. Centre for Disease Control - as well as the highly contagious Delta variant - which was responsible for 95 per cent of new cases in the province during the last week of July, according to preliminary data released by the BCCDC.

In response to this dynamic and the recent rise in care home outbreaks, provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry announced Thursday that she would be making vaccination against COVID-19 mandatory for all care home workers and volunteers.