COVID-19 outbreak declared at Fraser Valley care home after 3 staff, 1 resident test positive

Vancouver -

Health officials have declared a COVID-19 outbreak at another long-term care home in B.C.'s Fraser Valley after three staff members and one resident tested positive for the disease.

The outbreak at Heritage Village in Chilliwack was announced Thursday, one week after the provincial government announced that being fully immunized against COVID-19 will soon be a condition of employment for all workers at long-term care homes and assisted living facilities.

It's unclear whether the coronavirus was introduced into Heritage Village by a staff member, or whether a lack of vaccinations contributed to the spread of the disease within the facility. Fraser Health told CTV News it couldn't provide any further details for privacy reasons.

There are now 12 active outbreaks in long-term care homes and assisted living facilities across B.C., including eight in the Interior Health region, which has experienced the greatest surge in cases in recent weeks.

Those eight outbreaks have infected 87 people so far, more than half of them staff members.

At the time of last week's announcement of mandatory vaccinations, provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said all eight of the care home outbreaks that were then active were caused by people who were not immunized.

"We have now seen with the transmission of the new variants that we need extra protection in this highly risky situation," Henry said at the time. "Even when residents' immunization is high, as it is across the board in facilities in this province, we have seen transmission from unvaccinated staff."

Health officials noted the severity of outbreaks in these settings has not been as devastating as it was earlier in the pandemic, before the vulnerable residents who live there were vaccinated. But the response required to contain the spread of the disease, which often includes shutting down entire facilities to visitors, remains disruptive to residents' lives.

The current outbreak at Nelson Jubilee Manor has also already resulted in the death of one resident.

Fraser Health said everyone who has tested positive at Heritage Village is in self-isolation at their homes, and that advanced cleaning and screening measures have been implemented.

"Social visits are restricted in the affected areas of the facility. Essential visits may continue," the health authority said in a news release.