A second person has died and two more patients have tested positive for the novel coronavirus in relation to the COVID-19 outbreaks at the Foothills Medical Centre in Calgary.
An outbreak of the virus was first declared on Sept. 19 in the cardiac unit of the hospital. That outbreak affected two cardiac units — 81 and 103A — as of Monday, according to AHS. The following day, a separate outbreak, believed to be unrelated, was declared in the general medicine unit.
On Monday, AHS said a total of 18 people were confirmed to have COVID-19 in relation to the outbreaks — 14 patients and four staff.
In a media update on Monday, Dr. Deena Hinshaw said AHS was still working to determine how the virus got into the hospital, including whether visitors not following the mask policy, and a staff member coming to work with symptoms, could be a factor.
Tuesday, AHS also said two more staff members tested positive for the virus, bringing the total number of staff cases to six.
“A total of 88 staff are currently in isolation,” AHS said. “There are no vacancies as a result of isolating staff. The site is using overtime and reassignment of staff to cover shifts as needed.”
AHS said it’s set up additional staff swabbing sites in the hospital to allow more staff on the outbreak units to be tested.
The health authority reiterated that the hospital is safe for those visiting and receiving treatment, adding that “all of the services usually offered at FMC continue to be provided.”
“We are working hard to ensure the availability of specialized and staff physicians to continue to provide these services,” AHS said.