2nd death recorded at Regina's Extendicare Parkside as COVID-19 cases climb

Another person is dead from COVID-19 at a Regina long-term care facility, where the number of residents infected with the illness has jumped dramatically over the last week.

As of Friday, there were90 people with COVID-19 at Extendicare Parkside in Regina, up from54 on Monday. The death reported Friday was the second at the care home, where an outbreak was declared on Nov. 20.

The number of COVID-19 cases staff cases also jumped in those four days, nearly doubling from 25 to 45. Thirty-two staff members are isolating at home as a precaution and one is in hospital. Three residents from the home are also in hospital.

In the care home's latestupdate, Extendicare Parkside administrator Dan Shiplack said staff are working to get the virus out of the facility, which has199 residents.

"We know it is difficult to see these numbers continue to increase and we share your concerns," he said in the update. "We are putting every resource available into supporting our residents and removing the virus from the home as quickly as possible."

In response to the growing number of cases, the Saskatchewan Health Authority has approved the transfer of 25 residents who have been confirmed negative for COVID-19 to the Regina Pioneer Village Long-Term Care Home, with transfers starting Saturday and continuing through until Monday.

"This resident transfer will result in the better protection of all residents at Extendicare Parkside and allow staff to provide more frequent and targeted care to each cohort of residents, with more time with each resident remaining in the home," said Shiplack in the update.

"We have also enhanced the capability of the medical team serving on-site at the home to provide additional support to our team of caregivers."

The update said the facility has prepared the transfer process to ensure "strict adherence" to personal protective equipment and infection control protocols, and decisions ontransferswill be based on health authority advice to ensure the move does not negatively affect the resident.

A Facebook group wasstarted for family members of residents at the facility where they can support one another and share resources during the outbreak.

Staff doing 'fantastic job,' says son of resident

Brian Albert's 98-year-old mother, Marie, is one of the positive cases at the home. He says staffare doing everything they can to support his mom, who is currently on antibiotics and receiving oxygen.

He feels staff are doing a "fantastic job" handling a bad situation.

"It's nothing they've done wrong, it's the whole nature of the COVID thing in Regina," he said. "Things are getting out of hand here. It's getting crazy and it's going to keep getting more crazy for another couple of weeks."

Staff at the home have started breaking down the facility into COVID-19 wards and are doing their best to keep everyone safe, he said.

"It's just a really, really tough battle," said Albert. "I have nothing but good things to say about that nursing home. If it wasn't for them, I don't know where my mom would be right now."

He says he was able to see his mother on Saturday through a window at the facility. While he's been getting regular updates from staff at the home, and he's hoping for the best, the uncertainty of the situation is very difficult.

"She could not wake up.I mean, it's just a terrible disease," Albert said, his voice cracking.

"So I spend my whole day waiting for the phone to ring. It's terrible. I get probably 25 phone calls a day about my mom from other people asking how she is. She's very popular and helped a lot of people in her day. It's really a tough time."

Albert said he feels those working and caring for residents at the home deserve a raise for their efforts.

"All the stuff that's going on and they still go to work, I mean, that's courage," he said. "That's like going to war but you can't see who you're fighting."

The outbreak at the home isanother sign that people need to take the COVID-19 virus seriously, said Albert.

"It's going all over and unless we really tighten our belts here, it's going to get worse before it gets better."

Several measures have been put into place at the facility to prevent further spread of the virus, including increased cleaning measures, twice-daily monitoring of patients for symptoms and active staff screening before shifts.

"Our ongoing surveillance strategy continues, to detect any new cases of the virus as soon as possible, and so does our work with public health," Shiplack stated. "We will follow all direction they provide us in regard to our strategy for continued testing in the days ahead."