An outbreak of COVID-19 has been declared at Lions Gate Hospital in Vancouver after patients tested positive for the virus in one unit.
Catherine Loiacono, a spokeswoman for Vancouver Coastal Health, said early Saturday she didn’t know how many people had tested positive.
VCH said the unit and the adjacent unit have been placed on “enhanced surveillance out of an abundance of caution.”
The health authority said it has implemented strict infection prevention and control protocols to prevent further transmission of the novel coronavirus, including careful monitoring, enhanced cleaning and restricting patient admissions and transfers from outbreak units.
Health officials are notifying patients on the affected units, as well as their families, about the COVID-19 outbreak.
As a result of the outbreak, Lions Gate Hospital is temporarily moving to Phase 2 of its surgical plan, which means it will prioritize urgent and emergency surgeries and continue with daycare cases.
Patients who may be impacted will be contacted directly, said health officials.
The emergency department at Lions Gate Hospital remains open. So far, there has been no impact to other areas of the hospital.
Source: VANCOUVER SUN
