2nd Millrise seniors home resident dies from COVID-19

An outbreak of COVID-19 at the Millrise Seniors Village in southwest Calgary has claimed a second life.

Retirement Concepts, the company that owns the residence, said in a letter posed on its website that the resident who died had previously tested positive.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with the family during this difficult time," the company said.

Another 21 residents who have tested positive all reside on the building's third floor — eight in long-term care and 13 in supported living.

"We continue to closely monitor residents, and should anyone be symptomatic, they are swabbed, placed in isolation as a precaution until lab results are known, and families are informed," the company said.

Twelve staff members have tested positive, and all are at home in isolation. 

Earlier this week, Alberta Health Services (AHS) said it had brought in its own onsite care manager to coordinate control of the outbreak and prevent further infections.

The province is also augmenting staffing levels at the facility, supplying extra RNs, LPN's and health-care aids.

The village first announced on April 16 that there was an outbreak, with two residents testing positive. The death of the first resident was revealed on April 28.

Long-term care facilities have been hard-hit by the coronavirus, both in Alberta and elsewhere. COVID-19 is particularly dangerous for the elderly and those with chronic health problems.

In one of the worst outbreaks at a care home in Alberta, a severe outbreak at the Mckenzie Towne care home in southeast Calgary has claimed the lives of 21 residents since the COVID-19 pandemic began, while dozens of residents and workers there tested positive for the illness.

There have been confirmed cases at a number of other care facilities in Calgary and elsewhere in the province.

There were 5,355 cases of COVID-19 recorded in Alberta as of Thursday afternoon's update from the province — 3,590 of them in the Calgary zone. There have been 89 deaths in the province.