COVID-19 clusters identified at supportive housing facilities in Victoria
We knew COVID-19 had started to spread among unhoused people in Victoria, but we didn't know exactly how many people were affected until now.
Internal documents from Island Health show 225 cases of COVID-19 were identified in supportive housing facilities between Sept. 1 to Sept. 22.
The documents were leaked to the Capital Daily, which shared them with CTV News.
"Our stance on privacy has always been (that) we respect the privacy of the people we serve," said Dr. Richard Stanwick, Island Health Chief Medical Health Officer.
That's why Island Health says it did not make the data public.
(Capital Daily)
The documents show case counts across 22 supportive housing facilities in the Victoria area.
As of Tuesday, 148 cases were active, including cases among 20 people without a fixed address.
Despite these numbers, Island Health has not declared any COVID-19 outbreaks at a housing facility, only clusters.
"We don't declare (an outbreak) in an apartment building where there's a family that has COVID, and this is very similar," said Dr. Dee Hoyano, Greater Victoria Medical Health Officer.
That's what Hoyano says is the difference between declaring an outbreak at a licenced care home and a supportive housing facility.
Some of the Cool Aid Society's homes are listed as cluster locations.
"We were expecting it a lot sooner and thought maybe it had passed us by," said Kathy Stinson, CEO of the Cool Aid Society.
The head of the society says staff are well aware of what's happening on the ground and how to handle it.
"We need to act as if it's in our buildings, whether we have an active case or not," said Stinson.
Island Health says there's a major push from front-line workers to get people vaccinated.
"Literally every day of the week they are knocking on doors offering vaccine," said Hoyano.
But it's an effort that Island Health says is difficult to undertake in a community that may have lost trust in the system.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Trend Line Anger, pessimism towards federal government reach six-year high: Nanos survey
Most Canadians in March reported feeling angry or pessimistic towards the federal government than at any point in the last six years, according to a survey by Nanos Research.
BREAKING 14 suspects arrested in grandparent scam targeting seniors across Canada: Ontario police
An interprovincial investigation into an 'emergency grandparents scam' that targeted seniors across Canada has led to the arrest of 14 suspects, Ontario Provincial Police say.
Motion to allow keffiyehs at Ontario legislature fails
A motion to reverse a ban on the keffiyeh within Queen’s Park failed to receive unanimous consent Thursday just moments after Ontario Premier Doug Ford reiterated his view that prohibiting the garment in the House is divisive.
B.C. child killer's lawyer walks out of review hearing
The lawyer representing child-killer Allan Schoenborn walked out of his client's annual review hearing Wednesday – abruptly ending proceedings marked by tense exchanges and several outbursts.
How to avoid the trap of becoming 'house poor'
The journey to home ownership can be exciting, but personal finance columnist Christopher Liew warns about the trappings of becoming 'house poor' -- where an overwhelming portion of your income is devoured by housing costs. Liew offers some practical strategies to maintain better financial health while owning a home.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Juror dismissed in Trump hush money trial as prosecutors ask for former president to face contempt
Prosecutors in the hush money trial of Donald Trump asked Thursday for the former president to be held in contempt and fined because of seven social media posts that they said violated a judge's gag order barring him from attacking witnesses.
Why drivers in Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic Canada will see a gas price spike, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
It's the biggest election in history. Here's why few Indians in Canada will take part
In the Indian general election that gets underway on Friday, almost a billion people are eligible to vote, but a vast majority of the overseas Indian community in Canada won't be casting a ballot.