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23 cases of COVID-19 identified in outbreak at Kelowna care home where most residents, staff vaccinated

Interior Health says as of Monday, 20 residents and three employees have tested positive at the Cottonwoods Care Centre, which houses 221 beds. (Andrew Glass/CBC - image credit)
Interior Health says as of Monday, 20 residents and three employees have tested positive at the Cottonwoods Care Centre, which houses 221 beds. (Andrew Glass/CBC - image credit)

Twenty-three cases of COVID-19 have been identified in an outbreak at a long-term care centre in Kelowna where over 80 per cent of residents were vaccinated, and 65 per cent of staff.

Interior Health says 20 residents and three employees have tested positive at the Cottonwoods Care Centre, which houses 221 beds.

Last week, 11 residents and two employees had tested positive, but the health authority says the new cases announced Monday do not represent a single day spike in cases.

"Interior Health conducted broad surveillance testing late last week on asymptomatic residents and residents with mild symptoms," it stated in a release. "As expected, positive results trickled in starting late Friday since our last report."

The authority says no new cases have been identified since the testing was completed.

Vaccines not mandatory for workers

Vaccines, while recommended, aren't required for care-home workers.

Thursday, Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry noted a certain percentage of the Cottonwoods staff was not available the first time vaccines were offered. Others had concerns and "legitimate questions" about the new vaccines that the province has worked to address, she said.

Henry has previously reported that some of the people who tested positive at Cottonwoods had already received two doses of the vaccine. She said transmission is possible even when people are fully vaccinated, but the illness seems to be milder and less contagious.

Last week, B.C. Seniors Advocate Isobel Mackenzie said the issue of unvaccinated staff will have to be looked at with other measures to keep seniors safe.

"We are going to have to address this issue around the balance between the rights of workers, but also ... our obligation to protect [seniors residents]," she said.

Mackenzie also urged B.C. health officials to increase testing of seniors' care staff and residents, in order to identify early infection. She says eight patients who tested positive were asymptomatic, yet posed an infection risk.

She says since the outbreak was declared, more Cottonwood staff have chosen to get vaccinated.

Active outbreaks in Interior B.C.

There are currently two other active outbreaks in B.C.'s Interior in addition to the Cottonwoods outbreak.

The latest update from Interior Health says the outbreak at the Kelowna General Hospital's 5B unit has six cases, including three patients and three staff.

The Florentine, a seniors residence in Merritt, has two resident cases despite 100 per cent of residents having received at least one vaccine shot as of Feb 15.