Three new clinics are set to open in Vancouver and Surrey for British Columbians suffering from long-term effects of COVID-19.

The clinics will open at St. Paul’s Hospital, Vancouver General Hospital, and the Jim Pattison Outpatient Care and Surgery Centre in Surrey.

In addition to providing care for those suffering from lingering effects of the virus, the Provincial Health Services Authority said Friday that it will be developing knowledge and best practices for dealing with long-haul patients.

COVID-19 long-haulers are patients who have contracted the virus but continue to live with chronic symptoms months after tests reveal they’re virus-free.

“We know some people who recover from COVID-19 experience long-term health effects,” Health Minister Adrian Dix said in a release. “Through the dedication of a large team of experts and health leaders across the province, we are working to ensure that specialized care is available to British Columbians, when they need it.”

The clinics will be staffed with specialists and health professionals with an extensive knowledge of the virus long-haulers, the province said.

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The St. Paul’s clinic has already seen more than 160 post-COVID-19 patients, the province said.

“We want patients to feel like they are not alone,” physician lead and internist Dr. Jesse Grenier said in a release.

“We are here. We’re listening. With patient partners, researchers, specialists, and primary care physicians across many health authorities, we are working together to learn from and support one another to ensure that patients get the care they need.”

Three long-hauler clinics are also set to open in Alberta — two in Calgary and one in Edmonton.

Prior to the opening of these new clinics, the long-hauler patients were receiving care from a team of experts from Fraser Health, Providence Health Care, VCH, BC Centre for Disease Control, PHSA and several others.

An early study of COVID-19 long-haulers in B.C. showed more than half of participants had abnormal breathing tests three months after they first started feeling sick with COVID-19. Further examination with CT scans showed one in five had lung scarring, which is permanent damage that will lead to compromised lung function.

“COVID-19 presents a special opportunity for research — we are leveraging the unprecedented focus on a single threat to bring together investigators and patients, who would otherwise be isolated, to create and mobilize new insights to benefit our community and beyond,” Dr. Chris Carlsten, Vancouver Coastal Health Scientific Director of Legacy for Airway Health and professor of medicine and head of the division of respiratory medicine at UBC, said in a release.

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The latest case study documenting coronavirus transmission in Ottawa shows the risks of lowering one’s guard in the workplace and when interacting with other households.

Ottawa Public Health tweeted a real-world contact tracing example Friday morning, as the heath unit has done previously, to show how COVID-19 spread through organized sports, weddings and outdoor social events, this time depicting virus transmission from one confirmed case in a few seemingly innocuous settings.

Before showing symptoms, this individual went to work where inconsistent mask use and physical distancing, coupled with some team members sharing a meal together, resulted in six employees testing positive for the virus and 18 more co-workers forced to self-isolate due to their high risk of exposure.

Two additional cases were linked to this workplace outbreak after one of the employees who tested positive brought the case into their home; other household members of the positive cases also had to self-isolate.

The original person who tested positive then developed minor symptoms but still attended a family gathering, where four households came together.

Six additional people tested positive as a result of this gathering and three other high-risk contacts were created.

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How an outdoor gathering in Ottawa led to community transmission

Finally, the original person had a friend over to their home. That contact then tested positive for the virus as well and exposed the other five members of their household.

Within two weeks’ time, the original case had become 15 with 40 high-risk contacts.

“We’re naturally more relaxed around people we’re close to, but this cluster is a reminder that COVID doesn’t care how well we know someone. Whether around coworkers we’ve known for years, friends or family members, we must remain vigilant,” OPH said in the tweet.

The local health unit also added one addendum to the case study: don’t gather with four households.

5:18
Coronavirus: How scientists track new variants of the virus

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VICTORIA — British Columbia is updating its immunization strategy for COVID-19 today as Premier John Horgan is scheduled to be joined by health officials to lay out the latest on the government’s plan.

Nearly 31,000 doses of vaccine that the province expected to arrive by Jan. 29 could be curtailed due to production delays in the supply from Pfizer-BioNTech.

Two doses of the vaccine are needed to ensure immunity from the virus that causes COVID-19 and Health Minister Adrian Dix said earlier this week that B.C. was set to begin administering second doses.

He said the province remains committed to ensuring all those who have had the first shot get a second dose within 35 days.

On Thursday, the province said it had administered 104,901 doses of COVID-19 vaccine, of which 1,680 were second doses.

Horgan is being joined in making today’s announcement by Dix, provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Dr. Penny Ballem, who is leading the COVID-19 immunization rollout.

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