Three COVID-19 outbreaks declared

In consultation with Wellington Dufferin Guelph Public Health, Guelph General Hospital has declared three COVID-19 outbreaks. The first began late Friday when two patients on its 4 West unit were identified as having hospital-acquired COVID. Yesterday, 7 East and 6 West units were added to the outbreak list with one having two identified patients and the other three respectively.

All three units are now closed to visitors except for compassionate grounds. In addition, several steps have been taken to help patients and keep the virus from spreading. These steps include; putting all the patients in the units in appropriate additional precautions, COVID testing of all patients in the two units and increasing the cleaning being done including frequent cleaning of high touch and high traffic areas.

“Our ongoing priority is to ensure the safety of patients and staff working diligently to limit the spread of COVID-19,” said Karen Suk-Patrick, Vice President of People & Support services. “The community can support hospitals by doing its part by trying to stay well. We encourage everyone to get the influenza vaccine when it becomes available and to stay up-to-date with COVID-19 vaccines. We know vaccines reduce the risk of severe illness and spreading illness to others.”

As long as no new cases appear on 4 West, its outbreak can be declared over Friday, Oct. 24. The 7 East and 6 West outbreaks are scheduled to be over Oct. 28.