KITCHENER -- St. Mary's General Hospital is investigating what may be a COVID-19 outbreak on the hospital's seventh floor.

The investigation began after officials confirmed a case in an inpatient who may have contracted the virus at the hospital. A press release was issued on Tuesday announcing the news.

The seventh floor was closed to new admissions while investigated. All inpatients were scheduled to be swabbed on Tuesday and droplet contact precautions were put in effect.

Contact tracing was also underway on Tuesday. Hospital officials said they would contact anyone needing testing as a result.

The hospital temporarily suspended care partner visits due to the possible outbreak, with two exceptions for end-of-life patients and in situations where there "could be a marked improvement in a patient's condition with a visit."

Care partner visits are already limited to one hour every seven days at the hospital, a policy that changed because of Ontario's provincial lockdown.

If the hospital declares an official outbreak, it will be the second active one at St. Mary's and the fourth active hospital outbreak in region.

There are currently two active outbreaks at Grand River Hospital and one at St. Mary's, in the 3 East Unit. As of Tuesday afternoon there were 48 active outbreaks in the region.