A COVID-19 outbreak has been declared inside the Davies 5 wing at Kingston General Hospital, Kingston Health Sciences Centre announced.
The hospital said four patients and one staff member have tested positive. The unit is now closed to new admissions and visitors.
All patients, staff, and families affected by the outbreak have been notified, the hospital said.
“Keeping our patients and staff safe is our top priority,” said Elizabeth Bardon, COVID-19 Incident Commander at KHSC. “We wish our staff member a speedy recovery and we are working with our colleagues at Public Health to investigate this outbreak.”
Bardon says that the 5 Davies unit is currently being used for patients who are having a prolonged stay in hospital.
To Bardon’s knowledge, none of the affected patients or staff are requiring intensive care.
“We thank our staff and community for working hard to prevent the spread of the virus, including being cooperative with our screening processes, masking requirements, and visitor restrictions.”
Contact tracing and swabbing of other individuals on Davies 5 has begun, the hospital adds. Patient care will continue as usual in other areas of the hospital.