Interior Health now says there has been one death from COVID-19 at Nicola Meadows in Merritt, where an outbreak of the virus was declared last week.

Further details on the death are not clear. There have been seven total cases during the outbreak, including four residents and three staff.

It remains unclear how the virus got into the assisted living home.

The outbreak was declared last Tuesday, which was a day after Interior Health said residents were evacuated to the Lower Mainland, as the City of Merritt went on evacuation alert due to the Lytton Creek wildfire.

NL News asked Interior Health last Wednesday about how many residents live at Nicola Meadows, how many were taken to the Lower Mainland and whether and residents or staff with COVID-19 were moved out, but has not gotten an answer.

Loved ones of three long-term care homes in Merritt described confusion and chaos when residents were evacuated last Monday, saying they were bussed to Kelowna and back, then to Summerland, then to Kelowna, and flown to Vancouver before being disbursed to different care homes in the Lower Mainland. The process took two days and those who spoke to NL News says they weren’t told until Wednesday where their loved ones had been moved to.

This comes as there are now 13 active outbreaks in long-term care homes in B.C., compared to 11 on Friday, and 1,711 new cases were reported over the past three days. Today, B.C. also announced plans for a vaccine status card program, to start in just under one month from now.