The COVID-19 situation inside Winnipeg’s personal care homes continues to improve, according to the latest data provided by the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority (WRHA).
Tuesday’s update shows 16 of Winnipeg’s 39 long-term care facilities are experiencing outbreaks, which is down two from four days earlier, and four fewer than a week ago.
Additionally, six facilities have no active COVID-19 cases at all. Outbreaks can be considered resolved after two incubation periods (28 days) following isolation of the last case.
The three most recent facilities to declare they’re COVID-free are Oakview Place, Actionmarguerite St. Vital, and Golden Links Lodge.
Presently there are 24 active cases among residents and 13 among staff, the WRHA says.
“We are cautiously optimistic that the trend witnessed over the past several weeks towards a reduction in cases will hold, as more and more residents and staff members are vaccinated every day,” the release reads in part.
In fact, the province announced just yesterday that every eligible and willing personal care home resident had received their first vaccine dose; some 8,112 people.
About 4,800 of those residents are in Winnipeg, according to the WRHA, which pegs uptake at 93.5 per cent on average.
Second doses for care home residents are scheduled to begin on Feb. 8, but Dr. Jazz Atwal, acting deputy chief public health officer, doesn’t think the campaign will have much impact on hospitalization numbers.
“I think there’s this misconception that PCH residents occupy or have occupied a lot of our hospital beds, and in fact it’s less than 10 per cent of our hospitalizations are related to PCH residents,” Dr. Atwal said.
“The vaccine protects PCH residents from getting the infection, obviously it will also prevent hospitalizations, but the greatest impact there is preventing deaths in that population.”
Dr. Atwal says hospitalizations tend to skew towards older people, but every age group is represented.
One “larger-scale” outbreak — which was declared at the beginning of January — remains ongoing at the Southeast Personal Care Home.
Meantime, the WRHA says staffing at some facilities “remains challenged,” but has stabilized in recent weeks, and the number of sites requesting support has dropped.
The Canadian Red Cross, which has been assisting in a number of capacities, also no longer has any on-site support aides in any care home.
As of Tuesday, outbreaks were declared at:
- Actionmarguerite St. Joseph
- Beacon Hill Lodge
- Bethania PCH
- Charleswood Care Centre
- Concordia Place
- Convalescent Home of Winnipeg
- Deer Lodge Centre
- Donwood Manor
- Golden Door Geriatric Centre
- Golden West Centennial Lodge
- Holy Family Home
- Park Manor Care
- Poseidon Care Centre
- River East
- Southeast PCH
- Tuxedo Villa
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