How seniors in Vancouver are coping with coronavirus threat

Kay Sharpe, a senior in Vancouver, didn't let the threat of coronavirus stop her from attending church on Sunday. She says she's taking precautions to avoid the illness and isn't worried.

"I'm 84-years-old. I've made it this far."

Sharpe, a former nurse, has been following the news about coronavirus. There are 27 cases in B.C. Two involve elderly people in a care home in North Vancouver, along with one care worker.

It's a scenario that health officials have been dreading. Dr. Bonnie Henry, B.C.'sprovincial health officer, said Saturday that's because most fatalities from the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, involve elderly people.

Sharpe, who walks with a cane,says she's not deterred and willcontinue on with her day-to-day activities. But with a plan.

"You're not going to jostle up against somebody else, keep your distance as best you can, use Kleenex and proper wipes for your hands and wear gloves.

"Common sense reigns, I'm an old nurse ... please use common sense people."

'Frail population'

SafeCare B.C., the association that represents 28,000 workers at care homes and those who do home care,says several changes have been implemented atfacilities to protect residents and workers. They include limiting or screening visitors, catching cases early, keeping people apart and increasing cleaning.

Isobel Mackenzie, the Seniors Advocate in B.C., says she is being briefed daily on the coronavirus outbreak in B.C., especially now that cases have been detected at a care home for seniors.

She says most care homes are prepared to deal with an outbreak. In 2019, there were 185 outbreaks at care homes in the province for illnesses such as influenza, norovirus or pneumonia.

"And we do manage them, but they are serious, because it is certainly a frail population," she said.She says the average age of a resident in a seniors care home in B.C. is between 85 and 86.

She says once a care home case has two cases of any infectious illness, one confirmed through testing, it is reported to health officers and the B.C. Centre for Disease Control.

Protocols that kick in, she says, can be hard on staff who may have to work extra shifts to accommodate things such as having workers off dueto the illness or doing more work to deliver food to residents who may have to eat in their rooms rather in dining areas all together.

"It is difficult, it's tough on the staff, it's tough on the residents and it's tough on family members but we also know that it is a finite period of time to deal with the more difficult aspects whether it's two, three, or four weeks," she said about how long it may take to get an outbreak under control.

MacKenzie is complimenting the efforts of B.C. Health Minister Adrian Dix and provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry who she says are doing a good job of balancing the threat ofcoronavirus, without spreading panic.

It's something Vancouver senior Ethel Lamb agrees with. She's about to turn 80, just returned from a trip to the Cayman Islands and is set to go to Arizona on another trip in a week.

She, like Sharpe, is not worried about coronavirusand is approaching its threat much the same as other seasonal illnesses such as influenza.

"If you keep yourself healthy, which I spend time doing, that's the best protection you could possibly have," she said.

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Dr. Bonnie Henry is concerned for families and health workers affected by the coronavirus.