1 resident dead, 52 vaccinated in Saskatoon Extendicare nursing home outbreak

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As the COVID-19 outbreak at its Regina Parkside home appears to be stabilizing, private nursing home company Extendicare says the outbreak at another of its Saskatchewan facilities has claimed the life of a resident. 

Provincial health officials declared a COVID-19 outbreak at the Preston Extendicare home in Saskatoon on Dec. 10. It followed on the heels of an outbreak at Extendicare's Moose Jaw home, which was declared on Nov. 12 but is no longer listed on the province's inventory of active outbreaks, and the Parkside outbreak, which was declared on Nov. 20, has been linked to more than 40 resident deaths and has led the province to seek an ombudsman investigation. 

Extendicare's homes are the only long-term care centres in the province operated by a private company under contract to the SHA. 

As of Friday, 22 residents and three staff members at Preston Extendicare in Saskatoon were infected. 

One Preston resident who was infected with COVID-19 has died, Extendicare said in an emailed statement.

"Extendicare Preston is strictly adhering to all provincial and local public health directives. We are continuing to test rigorously so that we can combat the virus effectively and clear it from our home as soon as possible," a spokesperson said. 

"Regular testing of all staff remains in place, with another round of testing completed [Thursday]. All negative residents will be re-tested again, with the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) on site to administer the tests."

Extendicare is also doing increasing cleaning and disinfection, monitoring all residents three times a day for symptoms and doing active screening of staff before each shift, the spokesperson said.

Only 20 of the home's 82 long-term care beds were in private rooms, according to a 2019 inspection report. 

As of Friday, 52 of 53 eligible Preston residents have been vaccinated against COVID-19, along with 23 workers. More people will be vaccinated in the days ahead, the spokesperson said.

"We are encouraged at the progress being made in vaccinating our residents and team members," the spokesperson said. 

Vaccinations at Parkside began on Friday, according to an update Extendicare sent to family members. No active cases among residents or workers were reported. Neither Parkside nor Preston had any residents in hospital.