VANCOUVER -- More than two dozen people have tested positive for COVID-19 at the Surrey Emergency Response Centre, prompting Fraser Health to declare an outbreak there.
The health authority announced the outbreak in a news release Saturday evening, saying it had found "evidence of COVID-19 transmission among staff and clients" at the facility, which provides shelter for people experiencing homelessness during the pandemic.
Two staff members and 24 clients have tested positive for the coronavirus so far, Fraser Health said, adding that it was working with the facility on "COVID-19 mitigation strategies and infection control measures."
"Those identified as cases and close contacts have been instructed to self-isolate," the health authority said.
Two care home outbreaks over
On Saturday, Fraser Health also announced the end of two outbreaks in seniors' homes in the region. There are no longer any active COVID-19 cases at Menno Home in Abbotsford nor at The Harrison at Elim Village in Surrey, according to the health authority.
The most recent report from the B.C. Centre for Disease Control indicates that 71 people tested positive for COVID-19 at Menno Home during the outbreak there, which was declared on Nov. 17. Forty-two of the people who tested positive there were residents, and 11 of them died.
The outbreak at The Harrison at Elim Village was the third one to be declared at the facility. It began on Nov. 30 and saw 35 people test positive, including 15 residents. A total of eight residents died during the outbreak, according to BCCDC data.
