UPDATE FROM DR. BONNIE HENRY TUESDAY:

During the daily briefing on Tuesday, provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry annnounced 10 new COVID-19 cases and no new deaths.

She also took a moment to mention the the local updates.

鈥淭here has been a new healthcare facility outbreak at the Maple Hill long-term care facility at Langley Memorial Hospital in the Fraser Health region. In total, five long-term care or assisted-living facilities continue to have active outbreaks,鈥� she said.

Of the five care centres in B.C., two are in Langley, the Langley Lodge and the Maple Hills. Details both mentioned below.

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As of Monday, all remaining cases of people diagnosed with COVID at Langley Lodge have reportedly recovered. But while that outbreak appears to have stablized, a new outbreak has been declared in another local healthcare facility.

Maple Hill Centre, a long-term care unit at Langley Memorial Hospital, has a confirmed an outbreak as of today (Monday, June 15), Fraser Health (FHA) confirmed online. Reports indicate there is just one reported case, and that the resident is in self-isolation at his/her home within the long-term care centre.

No further details were available 鈥� although the outbreak FHA also lists an outbreak of Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) within the hospital, also located on the same grounds as Maple Hill.

This announcement comes after B.C.鈥檚 top doctor, Bonnie Henry said earlier in the day that there were no new healthcare facility outbreaks. In total, she said, four long-term care or assisted-living facilities continue to have active outbreaks.

In this afternoon鈥檚 briefing, she reported 36 new cases since Friday, for a total of 2,745 cases in B.C. Of those, there are 182 active cases of COVID-19 in the province and 2,395 people who tested positive have recovered. And since the pandemic started, there have been 168 deaths in the province.

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Huge thank you to community

Langley Lodge, which is a long-term care facility built in the centre of Langley City back in 1974, is one of only a few care homes or seniors rental buildings still designated with an ongoing COVID-19 outbreak within the Fraser Health region.

While Lodge鈥檚 chief executive director Debra Hauptman shared Monday that there were no new resident cases of COVID and all of the remaining cases have recovered, she took time to also expressed a 鈥渉uge thank you to our community.鈥�

During the past three month, she said the Lodge has seen a tremendous amount of support, love, and caring from their families and the community at large.

鈥淭his outpouring of support lifts our spirits, and keeps up hope and strength for an end to our outbreak,鈥� Hauptman said.

鈥淎t this time, we would like to acknowledge all of the individuals and organizations that have reached out. We have received individually packed lunches for staff, small gatherings of locals showing love and support in our parking lot, drive-by鈥檚, instant outdoor mini-concerts, and many donations of small gifts for the residents. It has touched our hearts and we thank you.鈥�

Langley Lodge was first hit with a COVID outbreak in March 30. That outbreak was subsequently declared over April 25. Then, just three days later on April 28, another outbreak was declared that went on to claim 24 lives 鈥� the largest number of deaths at any single long-term care facility in the province since the pandemic was declared in March.

鈥淲e are in the process of planning for eventual return to more normal activities for our residents,鈥� Hauptman said Monday.

鈥淲e are happy to report that the second and third floor droplet precautions have been removed. Staff are spending time with these residents, supporting them with social distancing, hand hygiene, and small activities (two-four people only). We are hopeful that we will be able to gradually complete this process for all floors next week,鈥� she added.

鈥� We know these are important steps, as we return to a more normal quality of life for all of our residents.鈥�

Langley Lodge was not the only seniors care facility to report an outbreak in the months since this pandemic hit. Chartwell Independent Living鈥檚 Langley Gardens long-term care facility also had an outbreak back at the end of March. That was officially declared over at the beginning of May. There were no deaths reported at the Walnut Grove centre that provides long-term care, assisted living and independent living.

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