Box Hill Hospital staff diagnosed with coronavirus
Several staff members at Box Hill Hospital have been diagnosed with coronavirus, as the infection rate across Melbourne continues to soar.
East
Don't miss out on the headlines from East . Followed categories will be added to My News.
Several staff members at Box Hill Hospital’s emergency department have been diagnosed with coronavirus.
In an email to staff sent Wednesday, seen by Whitehorse Leader, Eastern Health director of emergency services Peter Jordan said the Box Hill emergency department had experienced a small cluster of COVID cases in staff, with diagnosis starting on July 10.
“All of these cases share a common day of work on the 3rd of July and location on that day in SSU (short stay unit),” Mr Jordan wrote.
“Contact tracing for each case has now been completed. People who are now required to isolate as a result of this should follow the instructions given to them by IPAC (Infection Prevention and Control) at that time.”
Dr Jordan said they had also chosen to take the additional precautionary measure that all well and asymptomatic staff who had worked a shift based in the emergency department at the hospital between June 23 until now should have a COVID swab test.
“The Department of Health agree with this and support this process to reduce the risk of further transmission occurring between staff in the coming days and weeks,” he said.
“A similar process has occurred at several other metro EDs (emergency departments) in recent weeks.”
With thanks to Daniel Klein and Juliette O’Brien. To see more of their work on our corona cases go to: covid19data.com.au
Dr Jordan said testing for asymptomatic staff would be prioritised with results expected the next day.
“Staff may continue to work while the test results are pending and will be notified of their test result as soon as it is available.”
Dr Jordan urged anyone with symptoms, however mild, to inform their manager and IPAC and they would be directed to the screening clinic for an urgent test as a healthcare worker.
He said additional cleaning was already in place and asked staff to wash their hands frequently and throughly, along with wearing a mask at all times in clinical areas and where maintaining a distance between themselves and other people can’t be guaranteed.
An Eastern Health spokesperson said privacy and confidentiality was afforded to its staff just as it was to its patients and therefore it was inappropriate to respond to specific questions about individual cases.
“Our staff, patients and the public should be reassured that we have the processes in place to manage this very situation, including advising close contacts, and taking the necessary actions such as cleaning and sanitisation,” the spokesperson said.
“We continue to follow the guidelines provided by the Department of Health and Human Services in relation to best practice models of care and the processes in place to provide both staff and patients with a safe environment.”
According to Wednesday’s figures from the Department of Health and Human Services, Whitehorse has 63 coronavirus cases, with 34 active cases in the community — up from 29 active cases on Tuesday.
MORE NEWS: ANOTHER DEADLY DAY AS STATE HITS RECORD HIGH CASES