Etobicoke General Hospital has declared a COVID-19 outbreak in one of its cardiology units.
On Monday, William Osler Healthcare System released a notice saying the hospital’s 7 East Cardiology unit is currently closed to new admissions with the exception of patients requiring telemetry, which is a technique used to measure the electrical activity of a patient’s heart.
Osler says outbreaks are declared when it discovers two or more individuals who test positive for acute respiratory illness with any common link within a 48-hour timeframe. This is based on guidance set out by the province from IPAC and Occupational Health and Safety teams and Toronto Public Health.
“The health and safety of Osler’s patients, staff, physicians, volunteers and the community is a top priority. Osler remains vigilant and is actively working to respond to any outbreak cases,” the hospital said in a statement.
In light of the outbreak, the hospital is taking extra precautions to protect its patients and health care workers.
This includes notifying patients and using the appropriate precautions to prevent transmission of the virus, testing and monitoring staff, physicians and patients, as appropriate, limiting staff members who normally work on multiple units to work on one unit only, and enhancing cleaning of patient care equipment and the hospital units.
Osler is assuring its visitors that the hospital remains an open and safe place to receive care. In order to maintain this safety, the hospital has implemented visitor restrictions, increased education for staff about the use of personal protective equipment and proper hand hygiene and physical distancing.
All staff and physicians at the hospital are also being advised to monitor and report symptoms to Occupational Health and Safety immediately, if symptoms develop at any time.
This outbreak comes just one week after the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) sent out its latest recommendation to Canadians urging them to get another COVID-19 vaccine booster in the fall if it’s been at least six months since their last dose or COVID-19 infection.
