7 staff infected in new COVID-19 outbreak at Windsor Regional Hospital
Windsor Regional Hospital is dealing with a third active outbreak of COVID-19.
The new outbreak was declared at the hospital's Met Campus on Thursday.
Seven cases have been identified among staff members in the 4N unit, the hospital said in a press release. No patients have been affected.
A previous outbreak on the same unit was declared in mid-December and later rescinded.
There are currently 32 cases in total associated with three active outbreaks at the hospital this month.
The outbreak declared on Jan. 6 on Unit 4M of the Ouellette Campus has eight patient cases and five staff cases.
Another outbreak, declared two days later on Unit 6E, currently has affected eight patients and four staff.
In a media release on Thursday, the hospital said further testing is being done on Friday and outbreak control measures are in place. The hospital started testing all patients for COVID-19 on admission last month.
Admissions to the units in outbreak continue, with "proper cohorting" of COVID-19-positive patients, though patients from other areas of the hospital can't be sent there without approval from the infection prevention and control department, according to the hospital.
Karen Riddell, the hospital's chief nursing executive and chief operating officer, said Windsor Regional expects to see these outbreaks as COVID-19 spreads in the community.
"We continue to remain vigilant in ensuring that we have the correct infection prevention and control guidelines and precautions in place to reduce spread of the COVID-19 virus," she said in a media release Thursday.
The hospital outbreaks are among 45 currently active across Windsor-Essex in various settings including workplaces and seniors' homes.
Earlier this week, the region surpassed 10,000 COVID-19 cases.
