NANAIMO- Some family members of residents living in a Ladysmith seniors home are growing frustrated with visitor restrictions triggered by an outbreak of Norovirus last month.
The 101-bed Lodge on 4th declared the outbreak on Feb. 21, with at least 20 residents ill at that time.
The facility said on Thursday that about five people remained sick with Norovirus, a mild but highly infectious vomiting and diarrhea illness.
Two seniors home in Parksville are facing similar outbreaks. The Arrowsmith Lodge declared a Norovirus outbreak on Feb.26 while Stanford Place Care Campus declared an outbreak on Feb. 14.
There has been a "significantly higher" amount of Norovirus cases across the Vancouver Island Health Authority compared to the previous winter, said Dr. Dee Hoyano, medical health officer.
Infections were likely lower last season in part due to more people practising better hygiene because of the H1N1 influenza pandemic, said Hoyano. The spike this season may also be due to changes in the virus itself.
"Sometimes you can get strains that are more infectious or cause more symptoms in people," she said.
Goodie Einfeld is upset that she hasn’t been able to visit her 67-year-old husband since the outbreak began at the Lodge on 4th.
She said he has been confined to his room for more than a week and is having a tough time dealing with the isolation.
"He’s stuck 24 hours in that darn room and I can’t go and see him," said Einfeld. "I don’t want this to go any longer, it better get cleaned up."
She thinks more staff members are needed at the facility and blamed senior management for not doing more to get the outbreak under control.
Andrew Butler, spokesman for the Lodge on 4th, said the facility is doing all it can to manage the outbreak and must consider resident and staff safety first.
"You try not to restrict them to their rooms, but sometimes that’s the only way to prevent the spreading of the virus. It depends on the circumstances," said Butler. "Obviously, they would like to see their relatives and friends, but this is for everyone’s protection."
Norovirus can be especially debilitating to older people. So far, no one has been hospitalized as a result of the outbreak, said Butler.
With the number of infection cases declining, he hopes that visitor restrictions will be lifted soon.
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