Second COVID-19 outbreak declared at Village by the Station in Penticton

For the second time in less than a month, a Penticton long-term care home is dealing with a COVID-19 outbreak after two people tested positive for the virus, including one resident.

Interior Health said on Saturday that a member of the staff at Village by the Station in Penticton has also tested positive.

The health authority said all close contacts are in self-isolation and “additional infection control and preventative measures” are being put in place.

The current outbreak is not impacting the assisted living and independent living areas of Village by the Station, Interior Health said.

The current outbreak was announced Saturday, less than two weeks after a previous outbreak at the facility was declared over on Nov. 26.

However, Interior Health said there is no indication the two outbreaks at Village by the Station are connected and the first outbreak was not declared over too quickly.

“There were no symptomatic cases after one incubation period of 14 days, so there was no need to extend the outbreak,” Interior Health said in a statement to Global News.

The long-term care facility’s operator, The Good Samaritan Society, did not make anyone available for an interview on Sunday, but in a statement agreed with the health authority’s assessment.

“We do not believe the two (outbreaks) are related,” society president Dr. Katherine Chubbs said in the statement.

“The previous outbreak met all the requirements to be considered closed.”

The previous outbreak was announced on Nov. 15 and was declared over 11 days later.

When it announced the earlier outbreak was over, the health authority said only one case was linked to the outbreak: the staff member who originally tested positive.

The Interior Health region also recorded its first COVID-19 death of a long-term care resident this week.

The resident of Mountainview Village in Kelowna died on Thursday.

The man in his 80s was also the first long-term care resident in the health region to test positive for COVID-19, the health authority said.

1:49 Long-term care home resident in Kelowna dies from COVID-19

When she announced the fatality on Thursday, the health authority’s president urged people to follow COVID-19 guidance to protect those living in long-term care.

“We all have a role to play to stop the spread in our communities, and I’m asking everyone to stick close to home right now and keep to your household,” IH president Susan Brown said in a statement to media.

“Limiting spread in our communities will help keep COVID-19 out of our long-term care facilities and help protect our most vulnerable.”

The Good Samaritan Society, which operates both Village by the Station in Penticton and Mountainview Village in Kelowna, said as of Saturday night, there are no active COVID-19 cases among residents at Mountainview Village but that three employees have active cases of the illness.

The society said in a statement that its “employees are doing everything they can to keep our residents and each other safe.”

The nonprofit said the precautions in place in place at Mountainview Village and Village by the Station during the outbreaks at the facilities include asymptomatic testing, restricting residents’ movements through the facilities, enhanced cleaning protocols, and twice-daily screening of staff and residents with temperature checks.

“While we currently do not know how the virus entered the buildings, outbreak protocols continue to be in place, and we are taking all precautions to limit its spread at both care homes,” society president Dr. Katherine Chubbs said in a statement.

The health authority said, “The Good Samaritan Society is following all protocols and working closely with Interior Health to ensure all infection control measures are in place.”

— With files from Darrian Matassa-Fung