VANCOUVER -- Health officials have declared a second outbreak at the Normanna long-term care home in Burnaby.
One staff member has tested positive for COVID-19 and is isolating at their home in the facility, Fraser Health said in a statement Sunday.
"Enhanced control measures have been put in place at the site. Fraser Health is working with staff to identify anyone who may have been exposed and is taking steps to protect the health of all staff, residents and families," the health authority said.
Visitors have been temporarily banned from the home, and residents and employees are being screened twice per day, according to Fraser Health.
The previous outbreak at Normanna was declared on Aug. 31, and ended on Sept. 23.
Officials also announced Sunday that the outbreak at Gateway Assisting Living, a private care home in Surrey, has ended.
"With the implementation of comprehensive strategies to prevent and respond to COVID-19 in care facilities, there are no longer any COVID-19 cases in this location," Fraser Health said.
As of Saturday's unusually timed COVID-19 briefing with provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry, there were 37 active outbreaks in B.C.'s health-care system.
The recent increase in outbreaks was part of the justification for Henry's latest provincial health order, which imposes strict but temporary restrictions on socializing.
Cases in seniors' homes are particularly worrying because older people are prone to the worst effects of the disease. Henry said the impact of recent health-care outbreaks has been a "worrisome increase of people with serious illness requiring hospitalization and intensive care."
Until Nov. 23, people living in the Vancouver Coastal Health and Fraser Health regions have been told not to socialize with anyone outside of their immediate household.
