File Photo — Overlander Residential Care (Image Credit: CFJC Today)

By James Peters

COVID-19

COVID-19 outbreaks at Overlander, Ponderosa drawing to a close

Mar 9, 2022 | 11:40 AM

KAMLOOPS — Interior Health says the COVID-19 outbreak at Overlander Residential Care has been declared over. And, if all goes according to plan, the outbreak at Ponderosa Lodge will be declared over in the coming days.

Speaking to CFJC Today Tuesday (Mar. 8), Medical Health Officer Dr. Carol Fenton said neither facility has seen any new cases in the past week or longer.

The outbreak at Overlander was declared on January 30. As of Monday, it had grown to 50 cases.

At Ponderosa Lodge, the outbreak peaked at 37 cases. It was first declared on February 3.

Neither facility saw any deaths from COVID-19 during the outbreak events.

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Fenton says the high case counts but few serious cases are consistent with the effects of the Omicron variant.

“Omicron is so much more contagious than the original COVID and the variants before Omicron,” said Fenton. “The second (factor) is that we have extremely high vaccination rates among care home residents and all of the staff are vaccinated — so the risk profile changed completely.

“We did anticipate to see quite a few cases, just because Omicron is so very contagious. But what we are seeing is that vaccine prevents that severity in the vast majority of cases and most of our folks who have severe illness or death are the unvaccinated.”

As of Tuesday afternoon, there were 14 active COVID-19 outbreaks in B.C., including seven in Interior Health.