Kingston Health Sciences Centre (KHSC) has declared an outbreak within one clinical service where three staff members have tested positive for COVID-19.
Working closely with our partners at KFL&A Public Health, contact tracing has been undertaken and patients are being notified, Infection Prevention and Control measures continue to be in place and the outbreak has been contained at this time. Twenty-four patients, most as a result of outpatient clinic appointments, were deemed to be close contacts of the staff members prior to those staff members testing positive.
Any impacted patients are being notified by KFLA Public Health to monitor for symptoms. If you are a patient of KHSC and have not been contacted by KFLA Public Health, you are not at risk as a result of this outbreak. The staff members are now at home and we wish them a speedy recovery.
All clinical services at KHSC continue to operate normally at this time, including the individual service impacted by this outbreak.
Keeping our staff and patients safe is the top priority at KHSC. While our workforce is vaccinated, infections can, on occasion, occur in individuals who are fully vaccinated. We know that high vaccination rates amongst health-care staff limits further spread of hospital-based outbreaks, while contributing to the reduction of more serious outcomes.
Our continued adherence to additional public health measures such as universal masking, hand washing and physical distancing remain vital to our fight against COVID-19. We continue to be grateful to our staff and members of the public for doing their part to keep the hospital, and everyone in it, safe from COVID-19 as the prevalence continues to grow in our community.
Members of the public who have symptoms of COVID-19 or concerns that they may have been exposed to the virus in other circumstances, can seek testing at the COVID-19 Assessment Centre (Beechgrove Complex). Appointments can be booked online at https://ygkcovidtesting.coconutcalendar.com/.
