19.34°C Vancouver

Feb 22, 2021 6:32 PM -

COVID-19 outbreak closes one unit of Vancouver General Hospital to admissions, visits

Share On

Five patients and two staff members in one unit at Vancouver General Hospital have tested positive for COVID-19, prompting health officials to declare an outbreak in that section of the hospital.

Vancouver Coastal Health says inpatient unit T10C in the hospital's Jim Pattison Pavilion is now closed to new admissions and transfers.

Visits to the unit, on the tenth floor of the hospital's highrise tower, have been suspended except for end-of-life compassionate visits.

The health authority says strict infection prevention and control protocols have been implemented.

Those include enhanced cleaning and disinfection of all frequently touched surfaces in the unit and self-monitoring or self-isolation of staff and physicians as part of the contact tracing process.

Coastal health says the rest of the hospital, including the emergency room, are open and operating as usual.

Latest news

BCSep 03, 2025

Phone services, including the 911 landline, down in northern Vancouver Island

Residents in parts of northern Vancouver Island are without landline and cellphone service due to what telecom provider Telus says was damage to infrastructure caused by vandalism. The company's service status map shows both Port McNeill and Port Hardy without home phone, mobile, internet and 911 landline service due to what it says is "damage inflicted upon Telus infrastructure." Other communities on Vancouver Island, including Alert Bay, Campbell River and Port Alice, have also been affected. Emergency Info B.C. says on social media that residents should still try to call 911 if they have an
train-cars-leave-the-tracks-in-b-c-s-kootenay-region-near-albertas-boundary
BCSep 03, 2025

Train cars leave the tracks in B.C.'s Kootenay region near Alberta's boundary

Federal investigators are looking into a train derailment in British Columbia's Kootenay region near the Alberta boundary. The Transportation Safety Board says in a statement that a team is being deployed to the site near Elko, B.C., where investigators will gather information and begin to assess what caused the derailment. A spokesman with rail operator Canadian Pacific Kansas City has confirmed the derailment at about 8 p.m. Tuesday, where multiple cars left the tracks. CPKC says the 12 cars involved were empty and no one was injured as a result of the derailment. It says its crews responded
poilievre-calls-on-liberals-to-scrap-the-temporary-foreign-worker-program
CanadaSep 03, 2025

Poilievre calls on Liberals to scrap the temporary foreign worker program

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is calling on the Liberals to scrap the temporary foreign worker program and to stop issuing visas under the program. Poilievre argues a jobs crisis among young people has been caused in part by corporations hiring foreigners who work for less than Canadian citizens. He is calling out specific fast-food chains he claims are hiring foreigners over locals, including through job postings that call specifically for temporary foreign workers. Poilievre accuses the government of creating conditions that frustrate the efforts of young people to start their working
putin-meets-north-koreas-kim-in-beijing
WorldSep 03, 2025

Putin meets North Korea's Kim in Beijing

Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un have met to begin bilateral talks in Beijing. The two leaders met formally at the Diaoyutai state guest house after attending a major military parade in the heart of the Chinese capital marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. Putin and Kim traveled from a formal reception to the negotiations in the same car, the Kremlin said in a post on social media.
carney-cabinet-meets-to-prepare-for-parliaments-return-debate-trade-war-strategy
CanadaSep 03, 2025

Carney cabinet meets to prepare for Parliament's return, debate trade war strategy

American tariffs and an upcoming review of the continental trade pact will headline discussions today as Prime Minister Mark Carney's cabinet begins its two-day retreat in Toronto. While previous governments referred to these sorts of gatherings as cabinet “retreats,” Carney’s office is rebranding the event as a “cabinet planning forum.” The meetings come two weeks before the House of Commons is to return for the fall sitting and about a month or so before Carney's new government presents its first federal budget. Ministers are expected to spend most of their time discussing U.S. Pre

Related News