Surrey care home dealing with 3rd outbreak of COVID-19 in just over 12 months

Cherington Place, a long-term care home in Surrey, B.C., is seen in this image from the Belvedere Seniors Living website.

Vancouver -

Health officials have declared an outbreak of COVID-19 at Cherington Place in Surrey for the third time since September 2020.

Fraser Health announced the outbreak Thursday, saying in a statement that one resident and one staff member at the long-term care facility had tested positive for the coronavirus.

Both people who tested positive are self-isolating at home, the health authority said.

The first outbreak at Cherington Place began on Sept. 3, 2020, according to data from the B.C. Centre for Disease Control. That outbreak lasted until Oct. 13, 2020, infecting 12 people - seven residents and five employees - and killing three residents. 

The facility's second outbreak began in May of this year, as the province was coming out of its third wave of COVID-19 cases. By the time it was declared over on June 16, the outbreak had infected 28 people - 21 residents and seven staff members - and killed five residents. 

The latest outbreak has prompted Fraser Health to implement "enhanced control measures" at the site, including restrictions on the movements of staff and residents, as well as the suspension of social visits to affected areas of the facility.

Additional testing and screening is also ongoing as health officials work to identify anyone who may have been exposed, the health authority said.

The outbreak declaration comes on the heels of a report from the provincial seniors advocate that looked at 365 outbreaks at 210 different care homes during the pandemic's first year. 

More than 800 care home residents died as a result of those outbreaks, most of which began with a staff member testing positive, according to Isobel Mackenzie's report, which made seven recommendations for improving the quality of care and outbreak response in such facilities.