Fraser Health declares COVID-19 outbreak at B.C. jail after 20 people test positive

SURREY, B.C. – Fraser Health has declared two new COVID-19 outbreaks, including at the North Fraser Pretrial Centre, where 20 people in custody have tested positive.

The health authority says it is working to identify others who may have had contact with those who tested positive at the jail in Port Coquitlam, B.C.

There have been several outbreaks in prisons and jails across Canada, including at Mission Institution in B.C.’s Fraser Valley, where an inmate died in April.

Fraser Health says there is also a new outbreak at the Royal Columbian Hospital in New Westminster.

It says two patients tested positive for COVID-19 in a surgical unit at the hospital and the outbreak is limited to that unit.

The emergency department remains open and the health authority says other areas of the hospital are not affected by the outbreak.

The health authority also declared over two previously announced outbreaks at the rehabilitation unit at Queen’s Park Care Centre in New Westminster and the Good Samaritan Delta View Care Centre.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 22, 2021.

Note to readers: This is a corrected story. A previous version erroneously reported that Fraser Health declared new outbreaks at the Queen’s Park Care Centre and the Good Samaritan Delta View Care Centre. In fact, Fraser Health declared these outbreaks over.