A new outbreak of COVID-19 has been reported at Lions Gate Hospital.
Dr. Bonnie Henry, the province's chief medical health officer, made the announcement during a press conference Thursday afternoon.
According to the health ministry three staff members and three patients outside of the specialized COVID-19 ward have tested positive for the virus.
Health officials are now tracing contacts of the six people who tested positive to track down any other potential cases and have put infection control measures in place, according to ministry staff.
Vancouver Coastal Health confirmed Friday the outbreak was in ward 6E of the hospital, a general hospital ward. The three patients have now been moved to the hospital's COVID-19 ward.
This is the second time an outbreak has happened at Lions Gate Hospital since the novel coronavirus pandemic started.
In mid-March, three administrative staff at the hospital – none of whom had contact with patients - also tested positive for COVID-19.
Since March, Lions Gate Hospital has been one of 17 specialized COVID-19 sites in B.C. where a special ward has been set up to deal with coronavirus patients. The 28-bed unit is set up on the second floor of the hospital.
Lions Gate was the first hospital to admit a COVID-19 patient and has treated over 30 patients since then.
According to Dr. Mark Lysyshyn, the chief medical health officer for the North Shore, about 30 per cent of Vancouver Coastal Health’s 755 COVID-19 cases have occurred on the North Shore – many of those in long-term care facilities where outbreaks have occurred.
As of Wednesday, there were 103 people hospitalized with COVID-19 in the province as a whole.
According to provincial statistics presented last week by Henry, people in their 60s and 70s, especially those with underlying health conditions, are much more likely to be hospitalized for COVID-19.
The number of COVID-19 patients in intensive care in B.C. peaked around March 27 and has been falling since then.
On April 14 there were 17 COVID-19 patients receiving critical care in hospitals throughout the Vancouver Coastal Health area. Twice that many were in critical care in the Fraser Health region.
