Editor's note: This article has been updated with the latest information from Mountain View Seniors' Housing.
OLDS - With several residents now diagnosed with COVID-19, the Mountain View Seniors' Housing (MVSH) lodge in Olds is now off limits to all visitors, chief administrative officer Sam Smalldon said this morning.
“It’s restricted, no visitors at the Olds lodge during the COVID outbreak,” he said on Dec. 15.
Smalldon confirmed yesterday that a number of residents of Mount View Lodge have tested positive for COVID-19 and were all in isolation in individuals' rooms at the facility.
The first case of the disease was detected in one of the lodge's residents on Dec. 7, prompting further screening of residents and resulting in the additional positive cases, he said.
Officials are not saying exactly how many residents have contracted the virus.
- RELATED: Local COVID-19 case counts: Dec. 15
“The cases we have are all isolated and they were ones that had symptoms,” he said on Dec. 14, noting that no staff members had tested positive as of Monday morning.
Tests of all residents and staff were conducted on Dec. 9. Further testing of all staff and residents at the Olds site is scheduled for today (Dec. 15) with results expected within two days, followed by another round of testing on Dec. 21.
“We are basically stable in the management of our COVID cases, with no further spread,” he said yesterday.
“All residents are isolated in their own rooms as per protocols and meals are being delivered to their rooms. All staff are wearing the appropriate personal protective equipment,” he said.
This morning's ban on visitors is a reversal of yesterday's directive where Smalldon said, "We are simply requesting that people only visit if absolutely necessary. We still do permit two primary essential visitors per resident and that is the current order. We are simply asking if it is not absolutely necessary right now that people reduce their visiting for the time being.”
No visitors are now permitted at the lodge located at 5230 - 50 Street in Olds.
MVSH has a single-site policy for all staff, meaning staff members do not work at more than one facility, he noted.
MVSH operates seniors housing facilities in Olds, Didsbury, Carstairs and Sundre.
“We are simply requesting that people only visit (those sites) if absolutely necessary,” he said. “We are discouraging visiting.”
