Burnaby’s mayor says he was “a little surprised” last week to hear the province’s top doctor report a new COVID-19 outbreak at a winter shelter, saying the cases were up to two weeks old by then.
In a June 4 news conference, provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry mentioned a new outbreak at the Beresford warming centre in Burnaby. Henry said three cases had been traced to the warming centre.
At least part of the surprise appears to be the result of confusion between the city and Fraser Health.
“What they told us was they weren’t necessarily able to connect (one of the three cases) to the site,” Mayor Mike Hurley said.
That was also conveyed to city staff in an email from city manager Lambert Chu. The email, obtained by the NOW, notes the first case was confirmed on May 22, while another staff member tested positive on June 1.
“Fraser Health Authority did not declare the case (an) ‘outbreak’ and concluded that mass testing of staff for COVID was unnecessary,” Chu wrote
But Fraser Health said in an email statement that Beresford’s cases – all of which were staff members – were, in fact, an outbreak.
While anyone showing symptoms at the warming centre was tested for COVID-19, Fraser Health pointed to advice from Henry, who suggested mass testing is ineffective at slowing transmission of the virus.
That’s due, in large part, to the high rate of false negatives – as high as 30% – among people who are not showing symptoms.
Fraser Health said those who tested positive for COVID-19 were being followed closely by officials, along with their close contacts, who were also “isolating and/or monitoring for symptoms appropriately.”
City spokesperson Chris Bryan also confirmed, after following up with Fraser Health, that the three cases were, in fact, deemed to be connected.
“There was some confusion between us and FHA (Fraser Health) about what constitutes an outbreak. Basically, anytime you have clear transmission within a facility, between people, it sounds like it’s an outbreak,” Bryan said.
Another part of the confusion, he said, was that one of the individuals who tested positive worked at the Burnaby Lake warming centre.
Hurley said one of the affected staff members had already been cleared to return to work by the time the province announced the outbreak.
“They had been through all the quarantine and tested negative,” Hurley said. “So it was kind of an older story, and the centre was closed by the time the story got out.”
In his email to staff, Chu wrote that the city had received “multiple inquiries” on the outbreak.
“When the first COVID positive case at Beresford centre was reported to the city, city staff, in consultation with Fraser Health Authority, activated its COVID protocol and took immediate actions that included investigation, staff self-monitoring and self-isolation, testing and additional site cleaning,” Chu said.
The Beresford warming centre had been extended beyond its April 1 close date to allow patrons to sleep at the shelter until the morning of June 1. The city’s other warming centre, at the Burnaby Lake Arena, has been further extended to the end of June.
