A second active COVID-19 outbreak was declared at a hospital in Kitchener on Thursday afternoon.
Grand River Hospital reported an active outbreak at its 5North unit after two patients and two staff members tested positive for the coronavirus.
The hospital also has an active outbreak on 5South, a clinical teaching unit.
There have been several active outbreaks on the fifth floor, including one which was declared over at 5Centre Unit on Dec. 13.
The hospital says the fifth-floor outbreaks have “impacted 11 patients and 17 staff members to date, including fewer than 5 patient deaths.”
There are also currently two active outbreaks at St. Mary’s General Hospital in Kitchener with one being in the sixth-floor chest unit and the other occurring on the fifth floor.
There is also an active outbreak at Cambridge Memorial Hospital in the Medicine A Unit.
There are now 30 active COVID-19 outbreaks in Waterloo Region.
Dr. Hsiu-Li Wang, the region’s medical officer of health, recently said she was concerned that the rising number of cases and outbreaks in the area was causing strain on the health care system.
“As we’ve seen, high rates of transmission not only affect the individual health of residents and their families but it can destabilize the health-care system and it can lead to the need for a broad-based lockdown,” Wang told Regional Council on Wednesday night.
“This type of strain that we’re now experiencing on our health-care system is not sustainable over a long period of time.”
Wang discussed hospitals’ struggles in dealing with the growing surge in cases.
“You can open more hospital beds but you only have a limited number of doctors, nurses and other professionals that can do certain procedures or interventions for patients,” she told council.
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