One died and 18 confirmed COVID-19 outbreaks declared at Foothills Hospital

According to AHS, two heart wards and one general medical ward are affected.

Nick Etches, AHS Chief Medical Officer in Calgary Zone, said at a press conference in the afternoon that the first case of COVID-19 was detected in one of the heart wards on Friday. The first case of the general unit was found the next day.

The heart unit accounts for 12 cases, while there are two common units.

AHS did not provide details of the deceased patient.

“At this point, there is no evidence that the two outbreaks are related,” said Etches, noting that the virus is still widespread in the community and that hospitals continue to treat patients with COVID-19. did.

He said the AHS is continuing to investigate how the virus invaded the unit and that health officials are actively controlling the situation.

The AHS statement states that the risk for patients coming to Foot Hills is not increased. According to AHS, anyone who tests positive is isolated and treated in a designated room.

According to AHS, tests are being provided to all patients at risk, and contact tracking of persons who may have come into contact with infected individuals is underway.

“It may be difficult for some, but visitors to the unit are limited to end-of-support status until further notice,” AHS said in a statement.

The patient’s family complains that they are not informed

Michelle Cairnsmith says her father was in one of the affected heart wards and tested positive.

She discovers that there was a possible case when her mother called the unit on Saturday and says she was told she couldn’t visit.

Her 82-year-old father, who suffers from congestive heart failure and bladder cancer, was examined that day. The family read the news and learned that the outbreak was confirmed at the hospital.

Cairn Smith says he is frustrated that he is currently holding his test results and being isolated.

“We are directly involved with this patient and no updates are available,” she said.

Karin Smith says she was worried about her father throughout the pandemic, given his ongoing heart disease, and had planned with her family to protect him. She said they were away at first, and when they decided it was safe to visit, they kept a distance.

“Once he got it, it was his death sentence. He was done. He was 100% done,” she said.

Efforts to control the spread

Craig Jenne, an immunologist and microbiologist at the University of Calgary, said it was not surprising that there were cases found in the hospital, but the outbreak was bad news.

“I’m very worried. Ideally, I’ve been trying to avoid it,” he said.

“We need to keep in mind that there are various protective measures to keep the virus out of the medical situation, but like any other system, there is no such thing as 100%.”

Jenne said the real test would be to anticipate this type of outbreak and deploy the system to prevent future outbreaks.

“The healthcare system thinks it’s safe to say that it wasn’t naive to think this would never happen, so they’re incorporating a mechanism to try spreads and quickly identify and limit them,” he said. ..

Jenne says the best way to prevent outbreaks in hospitals is to keep the number of infections low in the wider community.

“As the number grows, it will limit visitors and access to patient-sensitive areas,” he said.

This is not the first outbreak reported in a hospital in Alberta. Edmonton’s Miceli Cordia had to close the door to upcoming patients this summer after an outbreak at the facility.

In April, two staff members in the Obstetrics Ward at Foothills Hospital tested positive for COVID-19, but no patients were affected.