British Columbia’s provincial health officer says it’s still OK to visit loved ones in residential care facilities as the province braces for more cases of COVID-19.
Doctor Bonnie Henry says residents in long-term care homes need visitors but there are preventative measures that visitors can take to reduce the risk of transmission.
She recommends that friends and family arrive one at a time rather than in large groups to allow for better screening, and only visit the person you are there to see.
If you have any concerns about respiratory illness, stay way, Henry said.
The advice comes after an elderly resident of a North Vancouver care home died Sunday after being diagnosed with the novel coronavirus, COVID-19.
A worker at the same long-term care facility was the first in Canada to contract the respiratory virus from the community, meaning she picked up the bug locally, without travelling overseas.
Henry said a second health-care worker in the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority has also tested positive for the virus.
In all, five new cases of COVID-19 were confirmed in B.C. Monday, bringing the total number of cases in the province to 32.
This reported was first published by Canadian Press on Mar. 10, 2020.
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