Northern Health reported its first COVID-19 exposure at a long-term care home on Monday.
A single staff member at Rotary Manor in Dawson Creek tested positive for COVID-19, according to a bulletin released by Northern Health on Monday.
"At this time, there is no evidence of transmission of illness among staff or residents within the Rotary Manor facility," the Northern Health statement said. "As a precaution, (Northern Health) medical health officers have declared a facility outbreak, based on the criteria for declaring an outbreak in long-term care settings. In this case, it is a single lab-confirmed case in a staff member, who worked during their potential infectious period."
Public health officials are working with the staff at 115-bed facility to identify anyone who may have been exposed, and has taken additional steps to protect the health of residents and staff and the facility.
Extra cleaning and infection control is in place, staff and resident movement in the facility is being limited, and there is a temporary suspension of social visits, but essential visits are still being allowed.
All the extra measures will be in place until at least Nov. 8, which is 14 days after the potential exposure, the Northern Health statement said.
The announcement comes on the same day as deputy provincial health officer Dr. Réka Gustafson announced 10 new cases in the Northern Health region since the last update on Friday. The total number of cases in the north since the start of the pandemic increased to 422.
Throughout B.C., 1,120 new cases were reported on Monday. Public health officials were monitoring 2,945 active cases in B.C., and 6,448 people who may have been exposed, she said.
The number of active cases in northern B.C. wasn't provided, but on Friday the B.C. Centre for Disease Control reported 34 active cases in the Northern Health region. No patients were hospitalized with COVID-19 in the north.
Six new COVID-19-related deaths were reported in the province on Monday, bringing B.C.'s death toll from the pandemic up to 269, Gustafson said.
Ninety people in B.C. were hospitalized with COVID-19, she said, including 19 in intensive care.
"The numbers are concerning for all of us," Gustafson said. "At this moment we have a concerning number of new infections."
The majority of new infections can be linked to known cases and exposures, rather than casual exposure in the community, Gustafson said. Large gatherings in private homes have contributed a significant number of new cases, which is why the province ordered limits on the size of gatherings.
While places like restaurants and other venues have COVID-19 safety plans, few homeowners have the measures in place to safety host a large gathering, she said.
"We are in a significant new phase of the pandemic," Health Minister Adrian Dix said. "The COVID-19 tide is rising. I ask everyone... to recommit themselves to the task."
