Fraser Health has declared a COVID-19 outbreak at Surrey Memorial Hospital.
According to a news release issued Friday (Oct. 2) morning, the declaration was made “after evidence of transmission in a Medicine unit.”
“One patient and one staff member have tested positive for COVID-19. The outbreak is limited to one unit, which is temporarily closed to admissions,” the release states.
Enhanced infection prevention and control precautions, including enhanced cleaning, was immediately implemented, the release adds, as well as contact tracing.
“Fraser Health has notified all patients on the affected unit about the outbreak, and in addition, have informed the families of patients who are unable to share this information with their loved ones. Surrey Memorial Hospital is working with essential visitors to the affected unit on a case-by-case basis.”
The outbreak is among 10 listed on Fraser Health’s ‘current outbreaks’ webpage.
READ MORE: COVID-19 ‘outbreak’ at Surrey Memorial Hospital’s kidney unit
Last month, Dr. Elizabeth Brodkin, Fraser Health’s interim chief medical health officer, explained what an outbreak at the hospital means:
“A case is a person who has been diagnosed with COVID-19 infection, and that infection could have been acquired in the community or it could have been acquired somewhere else, like in a hospital,” Brodkin said.
“An outbreak, by definition, means there has been transmission at the hospital site.”
tholmes@peacearchnews.comLike us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter
