50 new COVID-19 cases in B.C., new outbreak at care home

VICTORIA (NEWS 1130) — The province recorded 50 COVID-19 cases and an outbreak at another care home on Friday before the B.C. Day long weekend, as well as another death at Holy Family Hospital.

The outbreak is at Dania Home, a long-term care home with independent and assisted-living facilities in Burnaby.

The Fraser Health Authority confirmed the COVID-19 case is a staff member at Dania Home.

“The outbreak is limited to Dania Home, which is not connected to the other two facilities,” says a release from Fraser Health.  “The staff member worked in one contained unit in Dania Home and did not work in other areas. This individual is currently in self-isolation at home.”

MORE: @Fraserhealth has just sent a release saying the person who tested positive for #COVID19 at the Dania Home in Burnaby (where there is a new LTC outbreak) is a staff member. That person only worked in one contained unit, not in other areas. They are in isolation now.

— Ria Renouf ???? (@riarenouf) July 31, 2020

The outbreak is the first at a Fraser Health facility since June 17.

Ministry of Health staff confirmed the latest death is another resident of Vancouver’s Holy Family Hospital, where 20 people have now died since an outbreak was declared there in early June.

The 20 deaths are equal to those at Lynn Valley Care Home, which had the first COVID-19 case in B.C., and are the second most at any one site in the province. Twenty-five people died at Langley Lodge, where an outbreak was declared over earlier this month.

The 20th person to die at #Vancouver‘s Holy Family Hospital brings the #BC death toll to 195.
Latest long-term care outbreak is at #Burnaby‘s Dania Home with no other community clusters reported Friday.

New ‘good times guide’ posted by Dr. Bonnie Henry: https://t.co/k9UCH9Cik9

— Marcella Bernardo (@Bernardo1130) July 31, 2020

The outbreak at Holy Family Hospital in Vancouver remains active, as are those in two acute care facilities.

The outbreaks on Haida Gwaii and at Fraser Valley Packers, the frozen blueberry plant in Abbotsford, also remain active. The latter had 59 cases, as of Thursday.

The province also released a new “good times guide” on Friday.

“Spread fun — not COVID-19,” reads a quote from Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry on the website.

“This weekend, let’s play safe and stay safe while COVID-19 remains in our communities,” says a statement from Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix.

“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.”

READ ALSO:

• Dr. Bonnie Henry appeals to British Columbians to help flatten curve, reports 29 new COVID-19 cases

• COVID-19 outbreak at Abbotsford blueberry plant, two deaths in B.C. over weekend

• Close to 1,000 British Columbians self-isolating after Kelowna COVID-19 exposure

• Shared medical equipment could spread COVID-19 in long-term care homes: study

In total, 195 people have died in B.C. from COVID-19.

Cases now total 3,641, with a recovery rate of 87 per cent.

Five of the new cases were epidemiologically linked.

Of 278 active cases in B.C., five people are in hospital, including two in intensive care.

Cases by health region since the start of the pandemic: 1,088 in Vancouver Coastal; 1,889 in Fraser; 144 in Island; 369 in Interior; 88 in Northern; and 63 people who reside outside of Canada.

More than 1,000 people across B.C. had to self-isolate as a direct result of recent COVID-19 community exposure events, including the one in Kelowna on the Canada Day long weekend.