Northumberland Hills Hospital in Cobourg, Ont. has some visitor restrictions in place following a norovirus outbreak at its medical/surgical unit.
In a release from the hospital on Monday, officials say a “cluster” of norovirus cases among patients and staff has been identified on the hospital’s 2A medical/surgical unit. The norovirus is a group of viruses that cause gastroenteritis, which causes nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.
The hospital said they are working closely with the Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit to restrict further spread of the highly contagious virus.
The following control measures have been put in place to manage the situation and prevent transmission:
- All identified patients are on contact precautions (isolation)and must remain in their room except when medically indicated procedures are required. Personal protective equipment is required.
- No new admissions to the affected unit; 2A is not accepting new admissions and will postpone patient transfers to and from other units for the time being.
- Strict enforcement of proper hand hygiene using soap and water. The hospital says hand sanitizer is not effective against norovirus.
- Visitor restrictions to 2A; Special exceptions evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Visiting other parts of the hospital is not currently affected.
- Temporary suspension of volunteer activities on 2A.
- Enhanced environmental cleaning: Increased cleaning of the unit and increased cleaning of equipment shared between patient rooms has been implemented.
- Monitoring – any patient who develops any of the following symptoms (nausea, diarrhea and vomiting) will be placed on contact precautions.
NHH remains fully operational, with programs and services across the hospital operating as normal.
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