Northern Health is saying that whatever virus was present in Bulkley Lodge has appeared to have gone through its course but they are not ready to open the doors to guests just yet.
They are unable to say at this point when they might allow visitors back into the facility as it all depends how quickly the bug works its way through.
There was still no confirmation that it was Norwalk (norovirus) but there is a good chance it is, although there are a number of other bugs that could have caused the symptoms, said Northern Health communications officer Eryn Collins.
“The measures put in place seem to work and helped to prevent the transmission of illness to other residents within the facility,” she said. “It appears the outbreak has peaked.”
She said that Northern Health wants people to be aware that if they’re not feeling well they should not visit, or if they’re unsure to call the facility ahead of time to see if they should visit.
“People should expect that this time of year to be seeing signage around additional hand washing stations and resources for preventing illness in our facilities,” she continued. “It doesn’t take much to prompt the declaration of an outbreak, it’s very few cases in fact that qualifies as an outbreak in our terms.”
She noted Smithers is not alone as other facilities in the province have seen outbreaks recently.