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Province reports mini-spike of 50 new COVID cases entering B.C. Day long weekend

Burnaby residential care facility suffers outbreak
bonniehenry
Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry

New COVID-19 cases made a slight jump in B.C. in the last 24 hours, with 50 being reported – including five epi-linked cases, said provincial health officer Bonnie Henry.

B.C. also reported one new COVID death during that time, which occurred in the Vancouver Coastal Health Region. That puts the total death toll from the novel coronavirus in the province at 195.

And while the province has not seen any new community outbreaks since occurrences at Haida Gwaii and Fraser Valley Packers Inc. in the Fraser Health Region earlier this week, there is a new health-facility outbreak, Henry said - at Dania Home, a residential care facility in Burnaby.

In a separate release, Fraser Health confirmed that one staff member at Dania Home has tested positive, and a response team is on-site to contain the outbreak.

"Dania Home is a long term care facility owned and operated by Dania Home Society," the Fraser Health statement said. "It is one of three facilities on the society’s campus of care, which also includes buildings for assisted living and independent living residents. The outbreak is limited to Dania Home, which is not connected to the other two facilities."

Officials added the staff member who tested positive has started self-quarantine; this is the first long-term care facility outbreak in the region since June 17.

The small spike comes as B.C. prepares for a long weekend starting Saturday, and Henry remind people in a statement that they should not let down their guards as COVID-19 remains a threat to public health.

"We can make this B.C. Day holiday weekend one where we find the right balance: Having those important social connections with our friends and family, while taking precautions to protect ourselves and those around us,” she said. “Let's socialize safely by keeping our groups small, using the layers of protection and giving everyone enough space to stay safe, whether at a backyard barbecue, on a friend's boat or enjoying a nearby park.”

Currently, there are 278 active COVID cases in B.C., while 3,168 people have recovered from the virus.

To date, the highest occurrence of COVID-19 is in the Fraser Health Region (1,889), followed by Vancouver Coastal Health (1,088) and 369 in Interior Health.

Besides Dania Home, the only other active health-facility outbreak is at the Holy Family Hospital’s long-term care home in Vancouver.

 

See also:

Special report: Systemic failures in B.C. seniors' care left facilities unprepared for pandemic

Special report: Protecting seniors’ homes from the pandemic's next wave

Special report: ‘Financialization’ of seniors’ care has failed B.C. families, critics say