Several B.C. hospitals and long term care facilities have seen a spike in COVID-19 cases recently according to the provincial health ministry, but these cases are not being named or reported publicly.
In a response to questions from CBC about COVID-19 outbreak declarations at acute care and long-term care facilities, the B.C. ministry of health confirmed that in some cases an outbreak is no longer reported even when there is a spike in cases due to spread at the hospital or care home.
Instead, “enhanced measures” are put in place without alerting the public.
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An email from an Island Health medical director seen by CBC said they did not declare an outbreak at Saanich Peninsula Hospital — where the majority of patients are elderly and therefore more vulnerable to the virus — despite known spread due to “negative connotations to the public … media attention, possible patient shunting to [other local hospital] beds, and closing of all admissions to the affected units.”
Even without including sites with enhanced measures, the BC Centre for Disease Control’s latest report shows a spike in COVID-19 outbreaks at acute care facilities as of Aug. 27 compared to the summer, though numbers are much lower than August of last year.
“COVID-19 affects people in often profound and lasting ways, and we have to respond with a program of vaccination and encourage everyone to be involved,” Dix said.
Neither the health minister nor the ministry would comment on whether they plan to reinstate a mask mandate for health-care workers in response to rising hospitalizations.
“If there is an uptick in transmissions at St. Paul’s or other healthcare facilities, policies should reflect that and possibly the mandates need to come back.”
Tam’s office shared several recommendations to reduce the spread of respiratory viruses on X, formerly known as Twitter, including staying home when sick, wearing a mask in indoor public settings, and improving ventilation by opening a door or window.
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