COVID-19 outbreak at Edmundston care home grows to 20 cases

An Edmundston special care home is on high alert after reporting 20 total cases of COVID-19 on Saturday.

Manoir Belle Vue has 14 residents who have tested positive, including one who has been hospitalized. The facility said six staff members have also tested positive.

"We still have a public health team on site, working hard to reassure, disinfect, and take care of our residents. We are trying to respond to all your questions, but at this time our priority is to stabilize the situation as fast as possible," management wrote in a statement on Facebook.

Public Health officials declared an outbreak at the facility on Wednesday, after testing all residents and staff. It sent members of the province's rapid outbreak management team to provide support.

The director of the care home did not return calls from CBC News on Saturday.

Manoir Belle Vue has 61 beds, according to provincial inspection reports.

The home is part of a larger complex with three other units — La Maison, le Pavillion and le Château.

Public Health has also declared an outbreak at Le Pavillon Le Royer, another long-term care home in Edmundston, and Foyer Ste-Elizabeth in nearby Baker Brook.

Positive resident fears virus

A former Edmundston mayor is among the residents at Manoir Belle Vue to become infected.

Gérald Allain, 82, learned Friday morning he tested positive. He said he feels well, but he is worried.

"I'm going to rest and drink water, it's all I can do," Allain told Radio-Canada. "It worries me. I would have wanted to receive the vaccine, but we didn't receive it in time here."

He served as mayor of the city between 2004 and 2008. 

Allain is isolated in his room and meals are brought to him by staff.

'We hope and we pray'

Manoir Belle Vue began tight restrictions, including ending visits, when the Edmundston region rolled back to the red phase last week. 

Joanne Bérubé Gagné's sister and mother are residents at the care home.

"It makes us sad to see we can't touch them, we can't see them, we can't reassure them, even if it's only through a window at this moment," she said.

Bérubé Gagné said she understands the situation but finds it challenging to see the concern of her loved ones and be unable to help.

"Each day brings its own stress," she said. "We hope and we pray for these people that they don't finish their lives this way."