OLDS - There are five confirmed cases of COVID-19 at the Mountain View Seniors' Housing (MVSH) lodge in Olds, with further testing of all residents and staff taking place yesterday, said chief administrative officer Sam Smalldon.
Testing was conducted at the 69-resident facility on Dec. 15 and was being repeated Dec. 21. The first positive case was detected Dec. 7, with follow-up testing resulting in four additional cases.
None of the facility’s 29 staff members have tested positive for the virus, he said.
The five residents with positive results remain in isolation in individual rooms at the facility. All five cases were symptomatic, meaning the residents were showing signs of the illness caused by the virus.
The whole facility remains under isolation protocol, with visitation being restricted to two primary essential visitors per resident.
“To be clear, we are not banning visitors,” he said. “We are on restricted visiting.”
Residents have been holding up well during the outbreak, he said.
“I believe things are stable health-wise, and they are appreciative that they are being well taken care of,” he said. “We will try to address any one-to-one issues that we can find if someone is having difficulty.
“The staff have been remarkable in that they are taking really good care of the residents and themselves, and they are following all proper protocols with all personal protective equipment required.”
The lodge is located at 5230 - 50 Street in Olds, and is one of four lodges owned and operated by MVSH, the others being in Carstairs, Didsbury and Sundre.
The Olds lodge will remain on outbreak status for a minimum of 28 days following the last confirmed positive COVID-19 test result, he said.
All residents must be symptom-free for at least two incubation periods to ensure that no residents have contracted the disease and there is no possibility of transmission, he said.
MVSH has a single-site policy for all staff, meaning staff members do not work at more than one facility.
During the current outbreak, the first in any MVSH facility, all residents are being served meals in their rooms, and all recreational activities at the facility are now on a one-to-one basis.
Residents continue to receive regularly-scheduled care such as bathing, and have been supplied with iPads so they can virtually visit friends and relatives from their rooms. Each resident has also been supplied with a fob that notifies staff if assistance is needed.
All group activities at the facility have been cancelled for the duration of the outbreak.
Regarding Christmas Day, he said no special activities are planned.
“We are trying to follow all the protocols,” he said. “We will try to give as much one-on-one attention as we can.”
In a release issued on Dec. 18, officials said the activities coordinator at the Olds facility was planning to have personalized cards and packaged candy canes to hand out to residents on Christmas eve.
All staff schedules at the facility are being reviewed daily to ensure adequate staffing levels.
