Updated March 17 at 10:27 a.m.:
Health Sciences North has released additional information about the outbreak declared Tuesday night on the seventh floor of the North Tower at the Ramsey Lake Health Centre.
HSN said today the facility remains open with clinics and procedures continuing as normal.
This morning, the hospital said the outbreak was declared after four patients tested positive for COVID-19. HSN has said this third outbreak is “separate and distinct” from the one declared on on the sixth floor of the South Tower on March 12, and from the one declared March 13 on the fourth floor of the South Tower.
“The Ministry of Health defines a COVID-19 outbreak in a public hospital as two or more laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases involving patients or staff within a specified area within a 14-day period where both cases could have reasonably acquired their infection in the hospital,” HSN explained in a news release.
Stating the outbreak is contained to the seventh floor of the North Tower, HSN’s Occupational Health and Safety and Infection Prevention and Control Teams and Public Health Sudbury & Districts are working to determine the cause of the latest outbreak.
“Follow-up contact tracing is taking place,” the hospital said. “At this point, there have been no staff identified as being high-risk exposures to this outbreak.”
As part of its response to this outbreak, admissions and designated care partners to the affected unit are restricted. As well, impacted patients have been moved to HSN’s COVID-19 Unit and are in isolation. They are being monitored for symptoms and have been tested.
Asymptomatic patients remaining on the seventh floor of the North Tower have been placed on isolation precautions, and are also being monitored for symptoms and tested.
Additional infection, prevention and control measures are in place such as strict hand hygiene, heightened infection surveillance, additional use of personal protective equipment, laboratory testing and enhanced cleaning and disinfection.
Original story
Public Health Sudbury & Districts has declared another COVID-19 outbreak at Health Sciences North.
The outbreak was announced late Tuesday night. It affects the seventh floor (7B) of the North Tower at the Ramsey Lake Health Centre.
“Public Health is actively working with the hospital to investigate the outbreak and ensure patients and staff are protected,” Public Health Sudbury stated.
The health unit said the three outbreaks at the hospital are contained and “there is no evidence of ongoing transmission.”
An outbreak was declared March 12 in a hallway on the sixth floor of the South Tower at the hospital. The next day, March 13, another outbreak was declared, this time on the sixth floor of the South Tower.
The health unit said the two outbreaks weren’t related.
In terms of the latest outbreak, Public Health or Health Sciences North will directly contact anyone identified as a close contact and provide further direction, the health unit said in a news release.
“The need for everyone to monitor and screen for COVID-19 symptoms daily and to stay home when ill is critical in limiting the spread of the virus. If you have any COVID-19 symptoms, please take it seriously, and get tested,” said Stacey Laforest, director, health protection division, with Public Health Sudbury & Districts.
There are currently 13 patients in hospital with confirmed cases of COVID-19. Four of those patients are in the ICU. There are also 16 admitted patients under investigation for the illness, with two of those patients in the ICU as well.