More COVID-19 outbreaks at B.C. health-care facilities as visitor restrictions take effect

The Omicron-variant-fuelled fifth wave of COVID-19 has started 2022 the same way it ended 2021: with a growing number of outbreaks at health-care facilities in B.C.

Vancouver Coastal Health announced two new outbreaks on New Year's Day and provided additional details on a third that had been made public on New Year's Eve.

The two new outbreaks are at Lakeview Long Term Care Home in Vancouver and the Joseph & Rosalie Segal & Family Health Centre at Vancouver General Hospital.

Ten residents at Lakeview's "2 South" unit have tested positive for the coronavirus, as have two residents on the fifth floor of Segal centre, according to the health authority.

Additionally, four residents on the second floor of Kopernik Lodge in Vancouver have tested positive, according to Vancouver Coastal Health.

The Kopernik Lodge outbreak was included among the 15 active COVID-19 outbreaks listed in the provincial government's last pandemic update of 2021 on Friday. The Lakeview and Segal centre outbreaks were not. Nor was an outbreak at general medicine unit 4B at Victoria General Hospital, which Island Health announced late Friday night.

The latest outbreak declarations mean there are at least 18 ongoing outbreaks in health-care facilities around the province.

As recently as Dec. 24, there were just two active outbreaks in B.C.

The recent surge in infections among long-term care residents prompted provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry to reintroduce visitor restrictions at such facilities until at least Jan. 18. 

"We need to decrease the numbers of people coming into our long-term care homes so we can best protect the seniors and elders ... and ensure that workers in those settings are able to manage and cope," Henry said while announcing the new rules on Friday.

Vancouver Coastal Health said it has suspended group activities and paused visitation at both Kopernik and Lakeview.

The fifth floor of the Segal centre has been closed to new admissions and transfers, and all non-essential visits have been suspended, the health authority said, adding that it has implemented "strict infection prevention and control protocols" at all three locations. 

With files from CTV News Vancouver's Andrew Weichel