Twenty-five infected after Moncton Hospital COVID-19 outbreak closes two units, postpones 23 elective surgeries
An outbreak on two units at the Moncton Hospital has now resulted in 14 patients and 11 staff members testing positive for COVID-19.
Units 4200 and 5600 (oncology and general surgery) have been closed since the outbreak was declared, with the last positive case confirmed Monday in unit 5600. Horizon Health says no one has died and symptoms have been mild.
As a result of the units being closed, 23 elective surgeries have had to be postponed.
Horizon Health staff said Tuesday that preliminary evidence shows the virus likely gained access through a visitor, and then an asymptomatic patient was moved from that unit, to another.
Infectious disease specialist Dr. Gordon Dow says a patient becoming infected with COVID-19 during their hospital stay is a situation they want to 'avoid at all costs.'
"It gets in with patients, staff or visitors and in the first 16 months of the pandemic, we really were closed to visitation and so we didn't see visitors for that reason," he said. "So we've gradually been opening up to visitors right across North America and we are starting to see more and more cases related to visitors."
He said it's a reminder that the Delta variant is very infectious, and can transmit very quickly through communal settings.
The Moncton Hospital's executive director Christa Wheeler-Thorne says she believes the situation is now under control.
"The word outbreak carries certain connotations and stigma, particularly in the middle of a global pandemic. But I'd likely clarify that, as it applies in a hospital setting, we declare outbreaks as a means of triggering these heightened protocols and delivering a swift and thorough response," she said. "That's what we did in this case and the results show these measures are effective and in place for a reason."
Dr. Dow says they have to wait for two viral cycles -- or 28 days -- since the last positive case before an outbreak can be declared over. The last positive case within unit 4200 was identified on Oct. 16 and for unit 5600 it was Oct. 18.
Wheeler-Thorne says the rate of vaccination among staff at the Moncton Hospital is high, and testing will continue.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cargo ship had engine maintenance in port before Baltimore bridge collapse, officials say
The cargo ship that lost power and crashed into a bridge in Baltimore underwent 'routine engine maintenance' in port beforehand, the U.S. Coast Guard said Wednesday.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Far North police 'dispatch' polar bear stalking schoolyard
Police and local hunters in an Ontario Far North First Nation community have “dispatched” a polar that was showing abnormal behaviour and treating the area as a hunting ground.
Donald Trump assails judge and his daughter after gag order in N.Y. hush-money criminal case
Donald Trump lashed out Wednesday at the New York judge who put him under a gag order that bars him from commenting publicly about witnesses, prosecutors, court staff and jurors in his upcoming hush-money criminal trial.
Families shocked after Niagara Falls hotel cancels bookings made year in advance of solar eclipse
After having the foresight to book their Niagara Falls hotel rooms more than a year in advance, several families planning to take in the solar eclipse next month were shocked to find out their reservations had been cancelled.
B.C. rescuers face 'high likelihood' of failure to reunite orphaned orca with pod
The race to reunite an orphaned orca calf that’s stuck in a shallow lagoon with a neighbouring pod has entered its fifth day, and a marine scientist says the clock is ticking.
Video shows police interrupting auto theft in progress outside Toronto home
New video footage obtained by CP24 shows the attempted theft of a vehicle in a North York driveway earlier this month that was ultimately interrupted by police.
Majority of Canadians believe in life after death: Angus Reid survey
A new survey from the Angus Reid Institute has found that a majority of Canadians believe in some form of life after death, a proportion that has held steady for decades.
MyPillow, owned by U.S. election denier Mike Lindell, formally evicted from Minnesota warehouse
A court ordered the eviction Wednesday of MyPillow from a suburban Minneapolis warehouse that it formerly used.