Another seniors facility on the North Shore has reported cases of COVID-19.
On Monday, families of residents at Amica’s Edgemont Village retirement home were informed by a letter from Vancouver Coastal Health of positive coronavirus tests of both a resident and one staff member at the care home.
According to a letter from facility managers, the resident with COVID-19 tested positive after being hospitalized for reasons not related to coronavirus.
That resident is now in isolation in hospital and will be treated there, according to the letter sent to families.
Vancouver Coastal Health recommended that one other resident of the facility who had come into contact with the first resident also be tested.
Three staff at the facility who had been in close contact with the hospitalized man were also told to self-isolate.
The Edgemont facility – which includes independent retirement suites as well as assisted living and long-term care for people with dementia - is the fourth care home on the North Shore to be hit with a coronavirus outbreak.
Inglewood Care Home and Hollyburn House in West Vancouver have both reported cases. At Hollyburn, both a resident and a staff member tested positive. At Inglewood, so far only one staff member has tested positive.
Lynn Valley Care Centre – the first care home in Canada where an outbreak was reported - continues to be one of the hardest hit facilities.
Although Vancouver Coastal Health has not provided an update on the numbers of residents who have tested positive, they are believed to number about 50 people. Of those, 13 people have died.
Residents at the care homes where COVID-19 has been detected are now being confined to their rooms, and having their meals delivered. Family members are also restricted from visiting except in exceptional circumstances, including end-of-life visits.
There are now COVID-19 outbreaks at 21 care facilities across the province, provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said on Wednesday.
The number is high because even a single case at a care facility is “managed very aggressively like an outbreak,” said Henry.
