The first COVID-19 related death in Canada has been recorded in B.C.
Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said a male resident of the Lynn Valley Care Centre passed away late Sunday. She said the man was in his 80s and had pre-existing heath issues.
The North Vancouver facility had been identified as a COVID-19 hotspot three days ago.
“This is obviously a very sad day for all of us, but especially for the family and loved ones of the man who passed away at the Lynn Valley care home,” said B.C. Health Minister Adrian Dix.
Dr. Bonnie Henry discusses ‘what is going on’ at the Lynn Valley Care Centre:
Henry said a female resident of the home in her 70s has also tested positive for the virus and is in stable condition.
Officials from Vancouver Coastal Health have been on site at the Lynn Valley Care Centre since since a health-care worker at the home, a woman in her 50s identified as “Case 21,” was first diagnosed with the virus last week.
Henry said Case 21 is not believed to have brought the virus into the home.
A second health-care worker at the home has also tested positive.
Henry says it is believed the two care workers and two elderly residents contracted the virus from an unidentified party.
“Very likely both the residents and both the care workers were infected from someone else within that setting,” she said.
Henry said one of the Lynn Valley care workers also works in two other homes.
“That is part of the ongoing investigation at the Lynn Valley care home,” she said, “to find out where else the workers have worked.”
Two close contacts of Case 21 have also tested positive — a male teen and man in his 50s. They live in the Fraser Health region and are in home isolation in stable condition.
32 confirmed cases in B.C.
In total, five new cases of the viral infection have been confirmed in B.C., bringing the provincial total to 32.
Henry said two new cases were imported from outside the country. One is a female in her 50s who recently returned from Iran. The second is a man in his 30s who travelled from Italy. Both are in isolation at home.
Iran and Italy are both struggling with large COVID-19 outbreaks.
According to Henry, four people who contracted COVID-19 earlier have fully recovered. A woman in her 80s remains in the intensive care unit at Vancouver Hospital in stable condition.
On the weekend, Dix urged British Columbians to avoid travelling on cruise ships, a message that was reinforced earlier Monday by Canada’s chief public health officer Theresa Tam.
“I’ve asked Canadians to think twice about being on cruise ships. Today, the Public Health Agency of Canada is recommending that Canadians avoid all cruise ship travel due to COVID-19,” Tam said.
“The risk to the general population remains low, but this could change rapidly. We are most concerned for Canada’s vulnerable populations.”
