COVID-19 outbreak declared at Riverview Health Centre – Winnipeg Free Press

COVID-19 outbreak declared at Riverview Health Centre – Winnipeg Free Press

The province declared a COVID-19 outbreak at Riverview Health Centre Saturday. The personal care home located just off Churchill Drive has a total of 387 beds and supports people in rehabilitation and palliative or long-term care.

The announcement comes a day after the care home learned an employee tested positive for COVID-19. In an update released Friday, a senior leadership team said there was no evidence of exposure at that time, and since “the vast majority” of residents had already received both doses of their vaccine, they believed the risk was low.

By the definition set out by the province, however, a single laboratory confirmed case of COVID-19 for an employee of a personal care home constitutes an outbreak.

Riverview Health Centre said in its Friday update no other residents or employees are exhibiting symptoms, and nurses are to check for symptoms and body temperature twice a day for residents on potentially affected units.

Aside from Riverview Health Centre, there are five other outbreaks at personal care homes in the Winnipeg health region at Actionmarguerite St. Boniface, Actionmarguerite St. Joseph, Extendicare/Oakview Place, Heritage Lodge Long Term Care Home and River East Personal Care Home.

The outbreak at Heritage Lodge Long Term Care Home was declared after two confirmed cases of the B.1.1.7 variant (first found in the U.K.) in a staff member and resident.

The other ongoing personal care home outbreak is at Ochekwi Sipi Personal Care Home in Fisher River Cree Nation.

The province also reported Saturday 89 new cases of the virus in Manitoba. Two cases were found in the Interlake-Eastern health region; 46 in Northern health; five in Prairie Mountain Health; six in Southern Health-Santé Sud health; and 30 in Winnipeg health.

The five-day test positivity rate is five per cent across Manitoba and 3.2 per cent in Winnipeg.

One more person has died of COVID-19 — a man in his 80s from the Winnipeg health region.

Riverview Health Centre did not respond to calls or email by the time of publication.

fpcity@freepress.mb.ca

Published at Sat, 20 Mar 2021 23:22:00 +0000