New COVID-19 case at Mckenzie Towne reignites outbreak

A resident of the Mckenzie Towne Continuing Care Centre tested positive for COVID-19 Saturday, according to a letter sent to families of residents by Revera Living, the company that operates the long-term care home.

The new case is the first at the care home since April 20, reigniting Mckenzie Towne’s largely dormant outbreak. In total, 20 residents and one staff member from the home have died of the novel coronavirus.

According to Revera, 63 residents and 44 staff have tested positive for the virus, while Alberta Health reports 115 cases of the virus at the home.

“Despite this setback, the team at Mckenzie Towne is determined to prevent further spread of the virus among residents or staff,” Clare Hildebrandt, executive director of the Mckenzie Towne Continuing Care Centre, said in the letter sent to residents Sunday. “We work closely with Alberta Health Services’ public health experts to implement infection prevention and control directives, and we are very grateful for the support and expertise they are providing to us.”

At Alberta Health Services’ direction, all residents and staff members from the unit in which the case was found have been swabbed for COVID-19 and test results are pending.

Revera staff are working with AHS to determine whether the newly detected case is a new exposure or if the resident was previously exposed to the virus but was asymptomatic until recently.

“At this point, the renewed outbreak means that outdoor visits, which we had hoped to offer this coming week, are on hold again for the many families who have been anticipating visiting their loved ones in person,” Hildebrandt said.

“In the meantime, we will continue to offer ‘virtual visits’ for family members and encourage use of our interior courtyards and patios by residents.”

Hildebrandt added that Mckenzie Towne staff are following pandemic protocols and wearing personal protective equipment in accordance with AHS guidelines.

As of Monday, 94 Alberta continuing-care residents have died and there have been 783 cases at the facilities.

BRENDAN MILLER In a letter sent to residents Sunday, Mckenzie Towne Continuing Care Centre executive director Clare Hildebrand said, “Despite this setback, the team at Mckenzie Towne is determined to prevent further spread of the virus among residents or staff.”