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
'Still so much love between us,' Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
What to know about avian influenza in dairy cows and the risk to humans
Why is H5N1, or bird flu, a concern, how does it spread, and is there a vaccine? Here are the answers to some frequently asked questions about avian influenza.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
opinion The special relationship between King Charles and the Princess of Wales
Royal commentator Afua Hagan writes that when King Charles recently admitted Catherine to the Order of the Companions of Honour, it not only made history, but it reinforced the strong bond between the King and his beloved daughter-in-law.
Pro-plastic lobbyist presence at UN talks is 'troubling,' say advocates
Environmentalist groups are sounding the alarm about a steep increase in the number of pro-plastic lobbyists at the UN pollution talks taking place this week.
'Too young to have breast cancer': Rates among young Canadian women rising
Breast cancer rates are rising in Canada among women in their 20s, 30s and 40s, according to research by the University of Ottawa (uOttawa).
Charlie Woods, son of Tiger, shoots 81 in U.S. Open qualifier
Charlie Woods failed to advance in a U.S. Open local qualifying event Thursday, shooting a 9-over 81 at Legacy Golf & Tennis Club.
$70M Lotto Max winners kept prize a secret from family for 2 months
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Trump's lawyers grill ex-tabloid publisher as 1st week of hush money trial testimony nears a close
After prosecutors' lead witness painted a tawdry portrait of “catch-and-kill” tabloid schemes, defence lawyers in Donald Trump's criminal trial on Friday sought to dig into an account of the former publisher of the National Enquirer and his efforts to protect Trump from negative stories during the 2016 election.