*This care home has updated families with news of more deaths and more cases. Read it here.*
Burnaby has been hit with COVID-19 cases and outbreaks in five locations in the past two weeks – with one location seeing 12 total cases so far and one death.
The latest outbreak is at New Vista Care Home, which started with one positive case involving a staff member, but spread to 11 more people, according to an email sent to families of residents of the home.
There have been eight residents and four staff members who have tested positive for COVID-19, according to the email by Helle Johansen, director of care for New Vista.
“Six residents with COVID are being cared for by our clinical team in our isolation area, and to date are doing well,” Johansen says in the email.“One resident is in hospital, and sadly we had one resident pass away at age 97. At the direction of Fraser Health disease control, we have tested 200+ residents and staff, with the vast majority of tests coming back negative.”
The latest positive cases follow three other “outbreaks” – the term used by Fraser Health – at Burnaby care homes. A resident of Burnaby’s George Derby Centre tested positive for COVID-19 recently, and staff at Burnaby’s Derby Manor and Dania Home have also tested positive in the few weeks. One worker at Stay Fresh in Metropolis at Metrotown tested positive and that store has been closed temporarily. Read more about that here.
“Based on direction from FHA, all residents are taking meals in their rooms and have been isolated from other residents,” reads the email to families. “Any essential visitations to the care home, except in cases where residents are palliative, remain suspended until further notice. Any visitor for residents that are palliative will be screened and asked to wear PPE. These measures are in place to keep residents and families safe. The timetable for when these restrictions can be re-considered is mid-September at the earliest and we ask and thank you for your cooperation. We have an adequate level of staff, and spirits here are again determined as we carefully monitor the health of all in our care.”
