Georgian Bay General Hospital is reporting four new staff cases today related to an ongoing COVID-19 outbreak.
But in its daily update, the Midland institution says the new cases involving staff/credentialed staff that brings the overall total to 31 were already confirmed this past week, but were not considered related to the outbreak until Wednesday.
But the number of patient cases remains the same from Wednesday’s report with 31 for the outbreak that was declared Dec. 7 in all inpatient units in consultation with the health unit.
Meanwhile, 10 patients remain in hospital while 15 have been discharged home as well as one inpatient not related to the outbreak.
There have also been six patient deaths and one visitor case related to the outbreak (a high-risk contact of a COVID positive patient during their period of communicability).
Contact tracing for current patients and staff is being completed through the hospital’s Occupational Health and Safety and Infection Prevention and Control departments. Contact information for anyone who has been an inpatient (and has now been discharged) or outpatient at the hospital, or who may be considered a high-risk contact of one of these cases, has been provided to public health for community follow-up.
So far this year, the hospital has recorded 40 positive cases involving inpatients, seven outpatients (swabbed via the emergency department) and eight COVID-related deaths.
The hospital also announced this week that it will resume non-urgent and elective procedures and surgeries.
These services were postponed Dec. 7 at the beginning of the outbreak. The resumption of services includes ambulatory care procedures, such as endoscopy, which were also postponed. The decision to proceed was based on no COVID-19 transmission in the surgical and ambulatory care departments and was made in consultation with the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit.
