Outbreak of COVID-19 variant in Edmonton’s retirement home: Family says rules were relaxed too soon-Edmonton

Elderly families living in Edmonton’s retirement home have expressed concern after becoming the first outbreak of the COVID-19 variant in Alberta.

Alberta Health said the case was identified on Wednesday Churchill manners On Friday. As of Thursday, 36 staff and residents tested positive for COVID-19, said Atria Retirement, the company that runs the house.

“Alberta Health Services has visited the community to carry out expedited inspections for all residents and staff,” said Atria’s retired president Christie Grange on Wednesday.

“Residents who test positive remain in the apartment and are being quarantined and cared for by an Alberta Health Services nurse wearing full PPE.”

Alberta’s director of health said Wednesday that 19 cases had been tested positive for the mutant.

“Local public health teams and operators take this outbreak very seriously, limit its spread, and work closely to protect everyone involved,” said Dr. Dina Hinshaw. ..

Churchill manners are an independent living environment. Being unlicensed, the state does not oversee day-to-day management and compliance at the facility. However, given the outbreak, AHS is currently involved to ensure the protection of residents and staff.

A spokeswoman for Alberta Health confirmed that “local health authorities are working closely with the facility and that the enhanced subspecies outbreak protocol issued last week is strictly adhered to to prevent further spread. I did. “

Healthy residents of Churchill Manor received their first vaccination on Monday, according to Hinsho. It wouldn’t have protected those who were already exposed, but she said it would help build their immunity faster.

2:33Occurrence of Alberta’s first COVID-19 variant in Churchill Manor, Edmonton

Rose Zinnick, whose 94-year-old father lives in Churchill Manor, said everyone was surprised when the facility began to relax restrictions before being vaccinated.

“On February 15th, I received an email from them. From 18th, I think they will be able to enter the dining room with 50% capacity. And they will bring important visitors to that location. I was about to start getting it back.

“They intended to start a small exercise class limited to five people,” Zinnick said.

Prior to that, she said the entire site had been severely blocked since the beginning of December.

“When my dad went to dinner or breakfast … he said there were four at their table and they only had a tiny table.

“No one has been vaccinated yet-their vaccinations were not booked until March 1st-and they opened all of these on the 15th.”

Zinick said his father had his first vaccination on the morning of March 1. That afternoon she said she was said to have tested positive for COVID-19.

“He was pretty upset,” she said. “I want him to go through the breeze-he’s a pretty tough guy-but if there were 26 people infected there, more would be infected.

“How many of these people will die? There are many elderly people in this building,” said Ginnick.

She thinks Atria opened Churchill manners too early.

“They could have waited two weeks to get the vaccine and then slowly classify things.”

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In a statement Thursday, the company said it was always focused on the health and well-being of its residents and staff. According to Grange, the site makes decisions based on the activity of the disease in the area and escalate or adapt the protocol in response to changing circumstances to keep people safe and “live the best in that situation.” Allows you to “send”.

“After months of relatively successful keeping COVID-19 away from the community, we began to gradually reduce protocol escalation on February 12, while requiring face masks and regular screening.

“This included serving meals with a limited number of residents sitting at socially distant tables with the same individual for meals.

“Our protocol is always in line with Alberta Health Services guidelines.

“When the first positive case was identified, we immediately escalated precautions. For example, we asked all residents to stay in the apartment, delivered food to the resident’s apartment, and lived. We have banned gatherings of people. Our employees and important visitors must always wear proper PPE, we screen our staff daily for temperature and symptoms, and frequently monitor the population for symptoms. These protocols will continue to be implemented to protect residents and prevent further spread of the virus. “

According to Grange, Atria Retirement keeps in touch with AHS daily, and AHS is happy to review its protocol.

read more: Big Picture: Timeline for Increasing COVID-19 Mutations in Alberta

Ginnick’s daughter, Shauna Chambers, is also worried about her grandfather and is disappointed with the decisions she made before the retirement home broke out.

“I asked a lot of questions about whether the safety rules were being followed, and I was told” yes “in the letter. But … this wouldn’t have happened if people were wearing gowns, masks and gloves, 6 feet away and screened at admission.

“I want someone to acknowledge that this is a very harmful misjudgment and will not be repeated here or in other facilities they control,” Chambers said.

The prime minister turned to the federal government, suggesting inadequate performance when it comes to vaccine procurement.

1:31Alberta, Saskatchewan Premier supports a four-month gap in the second COVID-19 vaccination

Jason Kenny talked about the outbreak of the variant in Churchill Manor on Thursday, saying it happened in the same way that residents were vaccinated.

“They should have been vaccinated a few weeks ago, as was the case in the United States, Israel, the United Kingdom, and many other countries.”

Mr Hinsho said Alberta’s health authorities have made difficult decisions about prioritizing vaccines and know that many people will benefit greatly from vaccination.

She cautioned that Albertans must comply with all public health regulations, even after being vaccinated.

“We know that vaccines are currently being deployed to residents of these facilities,” she said. “We also know that it takes a couple of weeks from the first dose to the effect.”