South Edmonton care home linked to 7 deaths, 80 cases in ongoing COVID-19 outbreak

There are now 80 cases of COVID-19 linked to an outbreak at the Shepherd's Care Millwoods continuing-care centre in south Edmonton, according to an update posted to the foundation's website on Friday.

Of those, 53 are residents, all living on the third floor of the facility, and 27 are staff.

Seven residents have died.

Nineteen of the staff are employed by Shepherd's Care while eight are placement students or support staff from service providers. So far, two staff members have recovered.

In an email Friday, spokesperson Tom McMillan said Alberta Health is aware of 71 cases linked to the outbreak: 48 active, 14 recovered and six deaths.

McMillan also confirmed the centre is currently the largest outbreak of active cases in the province.

A statement from the Shepherd's Care Foundation states that visits to the facility are on hold during the outbreak.

As of Thursday, 282 Albertans have died from COVID-19, including 83 in the Edmonton zone.