Burnaby hospital outbreak; Five people have died and 55 patients have tested positive for COVID-19 so far

Five people have died and 55 patients have tested positive at Burnaby Hospital in an outbreak of COVID-19 that health officials believe was compounded by a recent fire at the facility.

Fraser Health chief medical health officer Dr. Elizabeth Brodkin says 40 staff members are also infected, although the health authority is still trying to track the source of all those illnesses.

The outbreak began at the hospital on November 9th, but as smoke billowed through hallways during the November 15th fire, patients were quickly moved to common areas and infection control measures could not be stringently followed.

Brodkin says that may be why the virus spread so widely through the facility over the last 10 days and she says, with limited exceptions, Burnaby Hospital is now closed to new admissions while testing and cleaning are underway.