Advertisement

20 people test positive for COVID-19 at North Fraser Pretrial Centre

Twenty people in custody at the North Fraser Pretrial Centre in Port Coquitlam, B.C., have tested positive for COVID-19, according to Fraser Health.

The health authority announced the outbreak on Friday and said it is working to identify others who may have had contact with those who tested positive at the jail.

There have been several outbreaks in prisons and jails across Canada, including Mission Institution in B.C.'s Fraser Valley, where an inmate died in April.

Fraser Health says there is also a new outbreak at Royal Columbian Hospital in New Westminster.

It says two patients tested positive for COVID-19 in a surgical unit at the hospital and the outbreak is limited to that unit.

The emergency department remains open and the health authority says other areas of the hospital are not affected by the outbreak.

The health authority also announced two outbreaks have ended: one at the rehabilitation unit at Queen's Park Care Centre in New Westminster and the other at Good Samaritan Delta View Care Centre.

The news follows Friday's announcement of 508 new cases of COVID-19 and nine more deaths.

In a written statement, Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix put the number of hospitalized patients at 315, including 74 who are in intensive care.

There are currently 4,479 active cases of coronavirus in the province.

On Saturday, Vancouver Coastal Health announced an exposure event at Hail Mary's, a restaurant at 670 East Broadway, from Jan. 13 to Jan. 16.

The B.C. Centre for Disease Control also announced new possible COVID-19 exposures on recent flights between Toronto and Vancouver, and from Dallas to Vancouver.