COVID-19 deaths rise to 8 at Holy Family Hospital

Holy Family Hospital in Vancouver. (Google Maps)

The COVID-19 death toll at Holy Family Hospital in Vancouver has now risen to eight as the facility continues to battle an outbreak of the virus.

Providence Health Care released the update on its website Saturday.

Six more staff members have tested positive for the virus, bringing the total number of staff who have tested positive to 24. A total of 42 residents of the long-term care facility have tested positive since the outbreak was first declared on June 9.

While B.C. has been successful in flattening the curve of new cases, to the point where the province is now in Phase 3 of a gradual reopening plan, the outbreak at Holy Family shows long-term care facilities are still vulnerable to outbreaks.

On June 29, the outbreak at Holy Family Hospital’s 65-bed rehabilitation unit was declared over. The current outbreak is in the facility’s 126-bed long-term care unit.

Providence Health Care reported a total of three deaths at Holy Family on Saturday, in two updates.

Those deaths were not included in the province’s COVID-19 update on Friday, when no new deaths were reported.

The next update from provincial health officials will take place on Monday.