A COVID-19 outbreak has been declared on the fifth floor of the Joseph & Rosalie Segal Family Health Centre (Segal Centre) at Vancouver General Hospital after two clients tested positive for COVID-19.
The unit is closed to new admissions and transfers at this time. All non-essential visits to the Segal Centre have been suspended until the outbreak measures have been lifted; the exception being for compassionate visits at the end of life.
Vancouver Coastal Health has immediately implemented strict infection prevention and control protocols to prevent further transmission of COVID-19. These include:
Careful monitoring of patients, staff and physicians
Enhanced cleaning and disinfection of all high-touch surfaces
Closing the units to patient admissions and transfers
Cohorting of staff to the affected areas
Self-monitoring or self-isolation of staff/physicians as part of Public Health contact tracing
Suspension of visitors to the unit (with exemptions for end-of-life situations)
Mayor Kennedy Stewart says a "very important" pilot program that paired firefighters with staff from Vancouver Coastal Health will stay in place to help people break the cycle of overdoses by connecting them with support services.
Yves Castonguay, 47, was charged on March 30 for one count of public incitement of hatred and one count of mischief to property. He failed to attend his court date and is now wanted for arrest.
The move comes a day after Premier Jason Kenney said widespread rule-breaking forced his government to shut down indoor dinning, curb indoor fitness and reduce retail capacity.
