Longest Kelowna care home COVID-19 outbreak finally ends; 17 lives lost

The COVID-19 outbreak at Cottonwoods Care Centre long-term care in Kelowna, B.C., has lastly been declared over.

In all, 17 of the 70 individuals who contracted the illness at Cottonwoods died. Of these contaminated through the three-month-long outbreak, 55 had been residents and 15 had been Cottonwoods employees members. There are 221 publicly-funded long-term care beds on the facility.

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Obligatory vaccines for long-term care employees anticipated to considerably scale back outbreaks of COVID-19

“This has been our longest COVID-19 outbreak and it has actually been a staff effort to get this outbreak underneath management and declared over,” Dr. Sue Pollock, Inside Well being interim chief medical well being officer stated in a press launch.

“The extra steps we’re taking throughout all long-term care websites, together with offering booster doses to residents and requiring proof of vaccine for guests and employees, proceed to be vital to limiting the unfold of this virus.”

British Columbia reported 555 new instances of COVID-19 on Wednesday, together with 11 extra deaths.

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IHA monitoring employees vaccinations at Cottonwoods Care Centre in Kelowna

The replace lifted the province’s seven-day common for brand new instances to 520. The determine has been steadily edging upward since hitting a fourth-wave low of 477 on Friday.

–With information from Simon Little