KITCHENER -- St. Mary's General Hospital is investigating a possible second COVID-19 outbreak in one of its medicine unit.
Officials with the hospital said the investigation began after a patient from the seventh floor medicine unit may have acquired the disease while staying at the hospital. Eight patients in the unit have been tested, officials said in a news release. Contact tracing is also underway to determine if any staff need to be tested.
The outbreak at the sixth floor chest unit has also grown to seven patients and four staff members.
Hospital officials said the medicine unit is closed to all new admissions, except for COVID-resolved patients. Droplet contact precautions are in place for the unit, and they've increased cleaning of high-contact areas.
“Now more than ever, with outbreaks at all three hospitals, and significant community spread, we ask the community to do all it can to follow public health precautions and thank all of you who continue to do so,” President Lee Fairclough said in a news release. “By working together we can help to limit spread and hospitalizations, keep our patients, staff and physicians safe, and help us maintain service levels to the greatest extent possible.’’
Hospital officials said they have infection protocols and control measures in place to help combat the spread of the disease.
