COVID-19 outbreaks reported at Site C and Vancouver hospital newborn care unit

Two new COVID-19 outbreaks in British Columbia have been confirmed at a hospital neo-natal intensive care unit and at the work site for a massive hydroelectric project.

Vancouver Coastal Health, which administers health-care services for much of Greater Vancouver, issued a notice about the outbreak at the neo-natal intensive care unit at St. Paul’s hospital.

Providence Health, which operates the hospital, said in a statement Friday that several patients and their families traced as potential contacts are in isolation and are being monitored by public health.

“We have set up a satellite (unit), completely separate from the existing (intensive care unit), to take care of newly-delivered babies requiring that level of care and support,” it said.

New protocols requiring parents visiting their babies in the unit to wear a mask and sign a visitor log are in place, it added.

Meanwhile, BC Hydro said a worker who arrived from Alberta on Monday to the Site C work camp in Fort St. John has tested positive for COVID-19.

The worker was in self-isolation and had not left the camp or had any interaction with the local community, the utility said in a news release issued Friday.

Northern Health has initiated contact tracing and workers are being asked to self-monitor and report any symptoms, it said.

“BC Hydro has been closely monitoring the situation with COVID-19 since January and has implemented extensive measures to protect the health and safety of its workers on the Site C project and reduce the potential for transmission at camp,” the utility said.

Site C will be the third hydro-electric dam on the Peace River in northeast B.C. When complete, it will provide about 1,100 megawatts of power, enough energy for about 450,000 homes a year.

Dr. Bonnie Henry, the provincial health officer, is now scheduled to hold a news conference Friday at 3 p.m. PDT. You can watch on CHEK’s Facebook and YouTube page.

This report by The Canadian Press was first reported July 17, 2020.

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