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COVID outbreak at West Van's Hollyburn House declared over

Two COVID-19 cases at the West Vancouver seniors home – in one staff member and one resident – have now 'resolved', says Revera
Jane Seyd
Jane Seyd
hollyburn-house
An outbreak declared after two people tested positive for COVID-19 at West Van's Hollyburn House in June is now over.

An outbreak of COVID-19 at a licensed long-term care unit within Hollyburn House seniors home in West Vancouver has been declared over.

Vancouver Coastal Health declared the outbreak over July 2.

The outbreak was declared on June 21 after one resident and one staff member in the long-term care unit tested positive for COVID-19.

Both cases have since resolved, according to a statement by Dr. Rhonda Collins, chief medical officer for Revera, the company that owns the retirement home.

According to both Revera and Vancouver Coastal Health, the recent outbreak was limited to the licensed care centre at Hollyburn and did not involve the independent living or assisted living areas.

Both Vancouver Coastal Health and Revera refused to say whether either of the two people who tested positive for COVID-19 were vaccinated.

"All the residents of Hollyburn House who have consented and are able to be vaccinated have received their first and second doses. Almost all the staff have also had their first dose, and a large majority of staff are fully vaccinated," according to a statement by Collins.

According to B.C.’s Centre for Disease Control, 65 of 69 residents at Hollyburn House – or 94 per cent of residents – had been vaccinated as of February this year. Vancouver Coastal Health and the Ministry of Health have so far refused to provide rates of vaccination among care workers in long-term care and assisted living facilities on the North Shore.

According to Dr. Bonnie Henry, the province’s medical health officer, vaccination cuts the rates of infection by about 80 per cent. “So while the risk goes down dramatically, it’s not zero,” she said recently.

According to data released by Henry, the risk of contracting COVID-19 and becoming seriously ill following vaccination was much higher among older people – especially those over 80 – than it was among younger people. “So that still tells us that not everybody mounts a strong immune response,” she said.

Hollyburn House is a private-pay seniors home owned and operated by Revera Inc.