WINNIPEG -- A COVID-19 outbreak at a Manitoba personal care home has grown and officials now believe they know the cause.
An outbreak at Bethesda Place Care Home in Steinbach, Man., was declared last Monday after a case was identified.
As of August 24, there are now seven cases at the care home, including four staff and three residents. The outbreak is cause for concern according to the Long Term and Continuing Care Association of Manitoba.
“We have the terrible stories from Ontario and Quebec that happened at the start of the pandemic where 80 per cent of the deaths that have occurred have occurred in personal care homes," said Jan Legeros, the executive director of the association.
CTV News reached out to Southern Health-Santé Sud for comment and was told the health region won’t be giving a statement because there is no new information – referring CTV News to the provincial COVID-19 news conference.
During Monday's update, Dr. Brent Roussin, the chief provincial public health officer, said no new cases were identified at the care home on Monday, but the cause of the outbreak was believed to have been found.
"There was a staff member that tested positive that had worked during the infectious period but not during the period of symptomatic spread," Roussin said.
If cases do rise, the Long Term and Continuing Care Association of Manitoba said it may be worth bringing back restrictions on senior facilities.
"Certainly during that four-and-a-half month period where we had no visitation and we had active staff screening we did not even have an outbreak of the common cold," said Legeros.
The three residents who contracted the virus were moved to hospital to help prevent the spread within the home.
