Seventeen COVID-19 cases have been found so far in a new outbreak at a New Westminster long-term care home.
Fraser Health has declared an outbreak at Kiwanis Care Centre, involving eight residents and nine staff members. The outbreak was declared Jan. 6.
The affected residents and staff are currently in self-isolation at their homes, a Fraser Health press release notes.
The release says health officials have worked with the care home to implement control measures, including:
- supporting staffing levels to maintain resident care;
- restricting social visits in the affected areas of the facility (essential visits can continue);
- restricting and modifying staff and resident movement in the affected areas of the facility to minimize exposure to others;
- enhancing cleaning and infection control measures;
- notifying residents, families and staff;
- screening all staff and residents twice a day;
- undertaking additional testing and screening to support monitoring of disease control.
Fraser Health also has an additional presence on site to support the facility, the release says; this includes "dedicated people to address quality, answer questions from staff, residents and family, and provide active checks of symptoms with staff and residents."
Kiwanis Care Centre was the site of smaller outbreaks earlier in the pandemic. As detailed in a report from the B.C. Seniors Advocate, it saw an outbreak in November 2020 involving three cases (one resident and two staff) and another in January 2021 involving one staff member.
It's one of five new care-home outbreaks declared by Fraser Health today (Thursday, Jan. 6) amid the rising Omicron surge. Outbreaks were also declared at CareLife Fleetwood in Surrey, Evergreen Baptist Care Society in White Rock, Hilton Villa Seniors Community in Surrey and Kinsmen Lodge in Surrey.
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