Thirty hospital staff have been put into self-isolation after Hastings and Prince Edward Public Health declared a COVID-19 outbreak at Belleville General Hospital.
Two patients at the hospital’s Quinte 5 inpatient unit were diagnosed with the novel coronavirus. According to the public health unit’s outbreak page, a COVID-19 infection was first identified at the hospital on March 23. The outbreak was then announced April 1.
On Tuesday, Global News confirmed with Quinte Health Care that 30 hospital staff deemed to be close-contacts of at least one patient with COVID-19 have since been put into isolation for 14 days.
Catherine Walker, director of communications for Quinte Health Care, said a patient was admitted to Belleville General Hospital a couple of weeks ago for an unrelated illness. The patient was diagnosed with COVID-19 while in hospital.
“We worked with public health and in consultation with an infectious disease specialist in determining the potential exposure of staff and physicians prior to the patient developing symptoms,” Walker said in an email.
Those who were deemed at risk were sent home, while those who were found not at risk were sent back to work, Walker said.
Walker said there is currently one patient still in hospital being treated for the disease.
As of Tuesday afternoon, there are 24 cases of the novel coronavirus in the Hastings and Prince Edward region.
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