B.C.’s top doc has given a Maple Ridge care home the all clear today.
While sharing news of 89 new COVID-19 cases in B.C. on Thursday, the provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry also confirmed there has been one new coronavirus related death and a few new outbreaks at long-term care homes in the Lower Mainland.
But with the sad news, she salt-and-peppered in some good news, including confirmation that an outbreak at Maple Ridge Senior Village is over.
“The outbreak at the Maple Ridge Seniors Village has been declared over,” she said.
RELATED: Staff member tests positive for COVID-19 at Maple Ridge Seniors Village
The outbreak at the downtown Maple Ridge facility owned by Retirement Concepts was announced a month ago, and involved just one staff member, according to Fraser Health.
The outbreak was contained to the long-term care unit of the 119th Avenue facility, and the staff member diagnosed was reportedly self-isolated at home. All family visits and group activities were halted.
RELATED: No new cases of COVID-19 reported at Maple Ridge Seniors Village
The care home’s website posted this announcement: “We are very pleased to inform all families that Fraser Health Authority officials have now confirmed that Maple Ridge Seniors Village is NO LONGER AN ACTIVE COVID-19 SITE. As a result, we will be resuming single visitations!”
The residential care re-opened for breakfast Thursday, and staff are taking appointments again for in-person visits.
And while their bistro remains closed, the leadership team is meeting soon to plan re-opening of the dining room in the independent and assisted living areas.
September 1, 2020
To see today’s communication update on Maple Ridge Seniors Village visit: https://www.retirementconcepts.com/category/maple-ridge-seniors-village/
Posted by Retirement Concepts on Tuesday, September 1, 2020
Efforts are also afoot to restore resident’s recreation programming soon – social distancing and protocols followed.
“As you all will appreciate, we will be moving ahead cautiously, and keeping all current COVID-19 processes and protocols in place to protect residents and staff,” the management posted online in their last official outbreak update.
“We know this has been an anxious time for everyone. We would like to close this communication by thanking families for their tremendous support and patience during this difficult period.”
In total, Dr. Henry announced there are still nine long-term care or assisted-living facilities and two acute-care facilities that have active outbreaks.
“We know COVID-19 is going to be in our communities for many months ahead, so our focus needs to be on keeping our communities vibrant and healthy, and keeping new cases low by breaking the chain of transmission,” she said. “Our well-being includes getting back to work, getting back into classrooms, keeping our businesses going and staying healthy.
“We simply have to look at the successes we have seen in recent months to show us what we need to do. Thousands of our restaurants have reopened, millions of trees have been planted this summer and many people have safely restarted recreational sports once again,” Henry added.
“However, as we look to the fall, now is the time to pause the activities that we know are a high risk to all of us – spending time with groups of people we don’t know without taking personal precautions.
“Now is also the time to think about the number of contacts you have. There is no ‘safe’ number, but fewer people is better. If you know you have more interactions ahead – for example, if you are returning to work – then it is a good idea to reduce your time with other contacts.
“This upcoming long weekend, choose to go small, to spend time with your household bubble instead of a group of strangers, and choose to use the layers of protection, wherever you may go. We have the tools and we can make the right choices. To be successful in this next phase, we need to step back to safely move forward, so let’s all make that choices that will keep our communities, our Elders, our loved ones and ourselves safe,” said the province’s top doctor.
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