Hamilton Health Sciences (HHS) declared a COVID-19 outbreak on Thursday at a unit in the Juravinski Hospital and Cancer Centre (JHCC) after two staff members and a patient tested positive for the virus.
The hospital says the E3 medicine unit is currently closed for admissions and no visitors will be allowed except on compassionate grounds.
The infected staff members are now at home self-isolating and those who spent prolonged periods of time on the unit are currently being tested, according to hospital officials.
Staff working in the unit will not work anywhere else until the outbreak over, HHS said in a statement.
The hospital is also working with Public Health on contact tracing and alerting those who may have come in contact with individuals from the unit.
Patient care is continuing.
The hospital’s E3 unit is a clinical teaching unit (CTU) that deals with patients who have serious medical conditions such as diabetes, acute coronary syndromes, arrhythmias, heart failure, pneumonia, and others including asthma and stroke.
23 active outbreaks in Hamilton
As of Thursday, Hamilton public health reported 23 active outbreaks in the city involving a total of 384 people at:
- Eight long-term care homes — Alexander Place, Baywoods Place, Chartwell Willowgrove, Hamilton Continuing Care, Heritage Green, Grace Villa, Idlewyld Manor, and St. Joseph’s Villa (south tower)
- Two retirement homes — First Place Hamilton and The Village at Wentworth Heights
- Six workplaces — Golden Auto Service, Maple Reinders Constructors Ltd., O’Neil’s Farm Equipment, Red Hill Orthodontics, 3 for 1 Glasses and Universal Precision Technology
- Two schools — Adelaide Hoodless Elementary and Sir Wilfred Laurier Elementary School
There are also outbreaks at five other locations including Canadian Electrical Raceways Inc., Hatts Off Girls’ Country Home, La Garderie le Petit Navire daycare, Rygiel Supports for Community Living, and CONNECT Communities.
The outbreak at the Rehoboth Christian school — Copetown and was declared over on Dec. 2.
The city says the 94th COVID-19-related death was a woman in her early 80s connected with an outbreak at Grace Villa long-term care home who died on Dec. 2.
The care home has been in an outbreak since Nov. 25 with 38 residents and 24 staff having been infected with the coronavirus.
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