(BRENDAN KERGIN / iNFOnews.ca)

Inpatient surgeries are starting slowly to ramp up to normal at Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops now that the COVID-19 outbreak in one of two affected units has been declared over.

The outbreak on 6 South was declared over two weeks after it started.

“This is a post-surgery unit so, as people get discharged, they are not part of the outbreak anymore,” Dr. Albert de Villiers, Interior Health’s chief medical health officer said today, Feb. 10 at a news briefing. “That’s how we can end it quickly. People are well enough to go home, from a surgery perspective, so they are able to go home and are still COVID-positive at home.”

There have now been 105 people who have contracted COVID-19 in connection to the hospital, including 36 patients and 69 staff members. One person has died and there are 40 active cases.

Nurses have raised concerns about staffing shortages and a lack of access to personal protective equipment.

READ MORE: Interior Health defends COVID-19 practices against nurses union criticism

Karen Bloemink, vice-president for pandemic response for Interior Health, said during the news briefing that there are adequate supplies of protective equipment and staffing levels are closely monitored.

“Working in an outbreak environment is a tough scenario for everyone involved in keeping our patients safe and also keeping the staff, as a whole, safe,” she said.

Bloemink could not say how many nurses were off work because of the COVID-19 outbreak but did say the inpatient surgeries are not fully back to normal because of staffing issues.

Inpatient surgeries require an overnight stay.

There has been a new outbreak at Carrington Place, an assisted care facility in Vernon, where one resident has tested positive, Dr. de Villiers said.

There are now seven cases at Highridge Home and Singh House group homes in Kamloops, including one resident and six staff members. There are six active cases.

There are 26 cases at the Westsyde care facility in Kamloops, including 14 residents and 12 staff. One person has died and there are 17 active cases.

Also in Kamloops, there are 25 cases at the Brocklehurst care home including 17 residents and eight staff. Two people have died but there are only two active cases.

There have been 38 cases in the Sunnybank care home in Oliver, including 27 residents and 11 staff. Six people have died and there are eight active cases.

Creekside Landing in Vernon has 40 cases, including 25 residents and 15 staff members. One person has died and there are still three active cases.

Noric House in Vernon had 10 deaths after 68 people tested positive, including 39 residents and 29 staff. There are eight active cases.

Heritage Square in Vernon has recorded 70 cases, including 47 residents and 23 staff. There are six active cases and nine people have died.

The cluster at Big White Ski Resort has reached 235 cases with 20 still active. Testing is done there each Wednesday with the news of any new cases being announced Fridays.

A community cluster in the Cariboo-Chilcotin area has hit 401 cases since Jan. 1 and another in Fernie is at 97.

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