A woman in her late 80s with no travel history has been identified as the first person to have died in relation to COVID-19 at St. Thomas Elgin General Hospital.
The hospital reported the death on Tuesday morning, expressing its “deepest sympathies to the patient’s family at this difficult time.”
Appropriate infection control protocols and practices were followed during treatment, the hospital said, “including appropriate patient isolation and personal protective equipment (PPE).”
The hospital says it has implemented a variety of new policies and procedures to further protect patients and staff, including:
- Ramping down non-essential activity, including elective surgeries, to help build capacity
- Restricting visitors, with “limited exceptions”
- Reducing the number of entrances and actively screening everyone who enters the hospital
- Adhering to provincial safety requirements for PPE
- Erecting tented areas outside the emergency department for additional triage space
The public is asked to continue to follow advice from Public Health Ontario — including social distancing, frequent handwashing, avoiding unnecessary trips out of the home and self-isolation when applicable — to help slow the spread of COVID-19 in the community.
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