A COVID-19 outbreak has been declared at the Chatham-Kent Health Alliance’s COVID Unit.
CK Public Health officials announced the new institutional outbreak at the hospital on their ‘current situation’ page of their website on Thursday, January 28, 2021.
The outbreak was officially declared on Wednesday, January 27, 2021, public health officials say.
The outbreak involves two total cases, CK Public Health officials added.
Hospital officials say on January 27, 2021, one staff member and one patient on the COVID-19 Unit at Chatham-Kent Health Alliance (CKHA) received a positive test result for COVID-19.
“On June 5, 2020, the province issued a directive that as soon as two or more staff and/or patients test positive for COVID-19 within a 14-day period in a specified area (unit/floor/service), an outbreak is to be declared,” hospital officials said in a media release.
“Chatham-Kent Public Health has formally declared CKHA to be in outbreak.”
CKHA officials added: “Since the onset of this pandemic, CKHA has taken decisive and immediate action with the ever-evolving dynamics of COVID-19 in our community. The safety of our staff, physicians, visitors and our community at large, has and will remain our top priority.”
As part of CKHA’s pandemic response action plan and in alignment with the hospital’s infection prevention and control guidelines, a number of initiatives have been implemented in response to the outbreak, hospital officials say.
“We will continue following these measures until the Medical Officer of Health for Chatham-Kent Public Health rescinds the outbreak order,” CKHA officials stated.
“Impacted staff are all isolating at home and working closely with CK Public Health for the contact tracing process. CK Public Health contacts staff who have been exposed and informs them of appropriate measures to take.”
CKHA continues to monitor patients for symptoms of COVID-19, hospital officials say.
“Any patient who develops symptoms suggestive of COVID-19 while in hospital will be isolated and tested,” hospital officials stated.
“We are confident we are able to get this outbreak under control, as we have put proper measures in place and continue to work closely with CK Public Health. We thank them for their ongoing support as we work together to keep our patients and families safe.”
Hospital officials added: “We would like to take this opportunity to thank our staff and physicians who continue to work tirelessly during the pandemic through these conditions. We will provide further updates as information becomes available. At this time, there are no operational changes to report. CKHA would like to remind the community that the hospital continues to remain a safe place to receive care. If you require urgent or emergent care, please call 911 or go to your nearest Emergency Department.”
– This story has been updated.
