Arrest made in ‘alarming’ hoax call to Lynn Valley Care Centre

NORTH VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) — Someone claiming to be a health authority threw Lynn Valley Care Centre’s operation into disarray after calling to say more staff had COVID-19, just days after the long-term care home became B.C.’s first major outbreak, according to care staff.

The care home says the call compromised the health and safety of residents and staff and led to short-staffing. The centre saw 20 resident COVID-19 deaths and 76 confirmed cases among them and staff in the months that followed.

Staff got a call just after midnight on Mar. 8, just two days after the COVID-19 outbreak was publicly declared at the centre.

“(The caller) had a few names of our staff and they had information that one of our staff had tested positive for COVID-19,” administrator Noori Shahkar said. “But they stated that now there’s seven or eight more cases, the centre had to be shut down, the staff that are currently working can’t leave, the people who were supposed to come work in the morning would not be let in, and officers were on the way.”

Lynn Valley Care Centre writes open letter saying RCMP has made an arrest after the centre received a hoax phone call on Mar. 8 which “deeply alarmed our staff” and harmed their “capacity to provide the high standard of care”
Facility was B.C.’s first #COVID19 outbreak#bcpoli

— Lasia Kretzel (@lkretzel1130) July 21, 2020

After contacting management, Shahkar say staff started calling their families to tell them they wouldn’t be home and co-workers to tell them not to come to work. It took the centre a couple hours to talk to real health authorities and sort everything out.

“But the damage was already done,” he said. “A lot of our staff didn’t show up in the morning, the staff that were already working had to stay longer, and that caused 16 to 24 hours of us being short-staffed.”

He says he, the director of care, and the assistant director got the same call on their cell phones.

“They knew who to call. We’re still internally investigating where they got that information from,” he said, adding despite the calling knowing staff names, there is still no evidence this was carried out by someone affiliated with the care home, currently or in the past.

He said the centre let staff know the problem was a hoax, but did not inform all residents or their families.

“We reported right away to the RCMP and it was an open RCMP case,” he said, adding it was taken over by the serious crimes unit. “Because of it being an open investigation, we did not release details to the media.”

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Police confirmed one person was arrested, but charged had not been laid as of Tuesday and the suspect has since been released from custody. Shahkar says the arrest was made less than a month ago and there is a court date of some kind in September, with charges recommended to crown council.

“The hard thing was hearing all the news about us and how the quality of care was compromised and not being able to answer right away to that was hard,” he said, adding they sent out the information as soon as RCMP said it would not compromise the investigation.

The news was first released in an open letter from Lynn Valley Care Home.

“That call kicked us while we were down, really down,” the letter states. “It caused needless fear among residents and their families. It created apprehension among our staff who, just like the majority of Canadians five months ago, knew little about the disease and its dangers, became reluctant to come to work. And it diverted valuable time and resources away from our capacity to work at a time when we faced the greatest challenge in our Centre’s history.”

B.C. ministers say call is ‘unacceptable’

“When people do things to intentionally disrupt people in a very difficult time, I think that kind of behaviour, obviously, is totally unacceptable. That’s why it’s been referred to the RCMP,” Health Minister Adrian Dix said of the hoax.

Solicitor General Mike Farnworth says those responsible for the hoax phone “will face the full force of the law. There’s just absolutely no place for this kind of disgraceful activity in a pandemic or, in fact, outside a pandemic.”

.@mikefarnworthbc says people responsible for hoax phone call to North Shore care home "Will face the full force of the law. There's just absolutely no place for this kind of disgraceful activity in a pandemic or –in fact– outside a pandemic." #LynnValley #COVID19 @NEWS1130 https://t.co/bV8EZ1PqML

— Marcella Bernardo (@MBernardoNews) July 21, 2020

Lynn Valley recorded the first of more than 8,858 deaths in Canada related to the coronavirus.

“Over the course of 24 hours, our facility went from its regular industry-standard practices to a vastly altered series of safety measures and protocols. Virtually overnight, our staff found themselves at the vanguard of a movement that has that swept through homes, businesses, and institutions across Canada and drastically altered everyone’s way of being, of working, and of living.”

Lynn Valley was also among the first care facilities in Canada to successfully make such changes, which included limiting staff to working at one site.

“We are so very grateful to Dr. Bonnie Henry, the BC Centre for Disease Control, Vancouver Coastal Health Authority and all Canadian health authorities for their guidance and support during that difficult period,” the letter continues.

The outbreak at Lynn Valley was declared over in May

According to modelling data released by the province Monday, 60 per cent of 189 COVID-19 deaths in B.C. involve long-term care homes.