First death at McKinney care home shakes town

McKinney Place in Oliver had its first death from the recent COVID outbreak.

The woman is believed to be 78year-old Evelyn Partridge, whose granddaughter spoke with CBC Radio on Tuesday.

She described her grandmother as the much-loved “matriarch” of the family, noting her health was fine on Saturday but within 24 hours she was unable to speak.

“We are sad to report a COVID19 related death in Interior Health of a resident in long-term care at McKinney Place in Oliver,” IH president and CEO Susan Brown said in a press bulletin.

“This has been our most challenging long-term care outbreak and we offer our condolences to the family and the caregivers. This is our seventh COVID-19 death in the Interior and we must all continue to do our part and follow the public health advice to protect our most vulnerable loved ones.”

Interior Health reported Monday there were 53 positive cases of COVID-19 at McKinney Place — 38 residents and an additional 15 staff members — but no deaths.

McKinney Place is operated by Interior Health and is connected to South Okanagan General Hospital. The long-term care section has 61 residents in the 75 publicly-funded long-term care beds.

The announcement came as the first vaccines were set to arrive in B.C. A joint statement from provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix said 688 people have died since the pandemic started. There were 522 new cases of COVID-19 for a total of 43,463 cases as of Monday.

The statement says it's a momentous day in the province with the start of the first vaccine clinics, but people need to remember they have to protect themselves and others while the vaccines roll out.