‘Public access is not fully restricted; however, additional precautions are in place to protect patients, visitors, and staff,’ said hospital official
Earlier today Sault Area Hospital declared its second COVID-19 outbreak since Saturday.
Both the 2C unit for post-acute complex continuing care and the 1B unit for post-acute transitional care have been impacted, and hospital officials encourage the public to limit visits to the affected units while outbreaks remain active.
That said, the units remain open for visitors and caregivers.
“Those who do visit must wear a hospital-provided mask at all times while on the unit and should postpone visiting if they are unwell,” said Brandy Sharp Young, director of corporate affairs and patient engagement.
“Public access is not fully restricted; however, additional precautions are in place to protect patients, visitors, and staff.”
Although outbreaks have been declared, case counts remain low.
The hospital defines an outbreak as two or more laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases among patients or staff within the same area of the hospital over a seven-day period, Sharp Young said.
She said both units currently have under five cases each, and that “exact numbers are not shared when case counts are below a five patient threshold” to protect patient privacy.
During outbreaks, the hospital implements its infection prevention and control measures, “including close symptom monitoring and targeted testing, placing affected patients and high-risk contacts on enhanced precautions, and increasing environmental cleaning of high-touch and shared areas,” Sharp Young said.
“Personal protective equipment supplies are being closely monitored to ensure availability, and Infection Prevention and Control teams are working closely with Occupational Health and Safety and support services across the hospital,” she added.