Jump in cases when an outbreak occurs
Photo: Contributed
The number of COVID-19 cases in a Kelowna long-term care home has increased dramatically since an outbreak first broke out on Wednesday, but most cases are asymptomatic, according to Interior Health.
The outbreak at the Spring Valley Care Center near Ziprick Road in Rutland was declared Wednesday after a resident and employee tested positive. But by Thursday, 15 residents and two employees had tested positive for the virus.
“Asymptomatic tests have been running since Monday that have helped identify these additional cases,” Interior Health said in a statement. “Most cases are asymptomatic or mild.”
The Spring Valley outbreak is one of three active outbreaks in senior homes in Kelowna and one in four in the Okanagan.
There remain 26 residents and three employees who tested positive at Kelowna’s Cottonwoods Care Center, where two people died, while 24 residents and two employees tested positive at Sandalwood Retirement Resort in Kelowna. One person has died in connection with the sandalwood outbreak.
In addition, a resident and an employee of the Orchard Haven nursing home in Keremeos tested positive.
Last week, Interior Health’s chief medical health officer, Dr. Albert de Villiers said the COVID-19 vaccine worked in the Sandalwood outbreak, where most cases were asymptomatic.
Residents and employees of nursing homes and assisted living facilities in BC were the first to receive the COVID-19 vaccine in late 2020 and early 2021.
