COVID outbreak declared at Guelph General Hospital

An outbreak of COVID-19 has been declared at Guelph General Hospital after two patients and one staff member tested positive. 

The outbreak is located in the hospital's Medicine Unit, a hospital spokesperson said. 

There are currently 21 patients on the unit, all of which will be tested for COVID-19, along with 38 staff. 

The Medicine Unit has been closed to visitors, and all patients on the unit have been put “on contact precautions,” to prevent spread of the virus, the hospital said in a media release. 

Increased cleaning is also being done, including frequent cleaning of high tough and high traffic areas. 

“Our ongoing priority is to ensure the safety of patients and staff who have worked diligently to limit the spread of COVID-19 during this challenging time,” Marianne Walker, hospital president and CEO said in the release.

“We are greatly concerned about the rapid surge of COVID-19 cases in the community and ask everyone do their part to reduce community spread.” 

As long as no new cases appear in the unit, the outbreak can be declared over Dec. 30.

This is the first outbreak at Guelph General in over seven months, the hospital said.