An outbreak of COVID-19 that began at an Edmonton care centre in June has been declared over by Alberta Health Services.
AHS said Friday the outbreak of the coronavirus at the Good Samaritan Southgate Care Centre is now over. The outbreak was declared in mid-June.
“While this is news that many people have been waiting for, it does not change the fact that we will remain diligent in our safety measures and do everything we can to ensure that the… (novel corona)virus does not gain another foothold in the care home,” the care centre’s interim president, Michelle Bonnici, said in a statement.
The south Edmonton care facility has become the location of the deadliest outbreak of COVID-19 in the province, with 34 people dying of the disease to date.
A class-action lawsuit has been filed against Good Samaritan Society claiming that the organization was negligent in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent outbreak in one of its long-term care homes in Edmonton.
According to GSS, a total of 44 residents and 33 employees at the long-term care site have recovered from COVID-19.
“I would like to thank our partners at Alberta Health Services and Alberta Health for their daily support and guidance as we managed this outbreak, and I want to thank the residents and their families for their patience and understanding,” Bonnici said. “I would also like to thank our employees and those who came to assist from other organizations for their tireless efforts.
“Words cannot express how challenging the global pandemic has been in the past few months for our residents, their loved ones and our employees.”
Bonnici added that the centre is working on phased plans to have operations return to normal while adhering to public health guidelines.
Generally, an outbreak of COVID-19 is declared over at a congregate living site two incubation periods — or 28 days in this case — after the last reported case of COVID-19 in a resident, according to Alberta Health.
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