Cambridge, ON - Cambridge Memorial Hospital (CMH), in consultation with Region of Waterloo Public Health, has declared an outbreak of COVID-19 on the Medicine A Unit (MED A) the evening of December 10. It is a staff-only outbreak affecting three staff who developed symptoms of COVID-19 over the past week. At the onset of the first two infected staff on December 5, the unit was immediately placed on a “watch status” and measures were put into place to minimize the spread of infection. A third case was identified late December 10 through contact tracing and testing. The hospital continues to monitor the situation with support from Public Health.
“Our priority is to contain the risk of infection spreading through the unit and to other areas of the hospital. The safety of our staff, physicians and patients is our primary concern,” says Kim Siegel, Director, Medical Programs.
The hospital has implemented the following safety and infection control protocols:
- Enhanced surveillance and contact tracing to identify potential cases;
- Ongoing frequent cleaning of high-touch surfaces with a focus on staff-only rooms and areas where employees gather
- Dedicating staff to the unit;
- Continually reviewing our practices and implementing new measures as required and as part of our ongoing risk assessments.
- Visitor restrictions to the unit
Should no one from the MED A unit become symptomatic for 14 days, the outbreak could be declared over by December 24.
CMH’s MED C outbreak from November 13 is on-going and could be declared over on December 12 should no new cases arise by Saturday.
More information will be shared as the situation develops.
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About Cambridge Memorial Hospital
Cambridge Memorial Hospital is an acute care hospital with over 1,100 dedicated and skilled health care professionals, technicians and staff, 280 physicians and 400 volunteers providing exceptional care to the residents of Cambridge, the township of North Dumfries and the Region of Waterloo. For more information, visit www.cmh.org.
For media inquiries contact:
Stephan Beckhoff, MA
Public Affairs and Communications
Cambridge Memorial Hospital
519-621-2333, ext. 2427
sbeckhoff@cmh.org
