A new COVID-19 outbreak is affecting Verdun hospital, where 12 users and three healthcare workers have contracted the virus in the past few days. However, only one of those affected was admitted to intensive care, “almost all” of them being fully vaccinated according to Public Health.
It was last Monday that the CIUSSS Center-Sud-de-l’Île-de-Montréal said it was informed of a first case of infection inside the establishment, on the fourth floor of the south sector. of the last.
But the virus quickly spread. In fact, the next day, Tuesday, eight users and a health worker had already contracted it. “It is a striking example which shows how the virus is transmitted at a phenomenal speed”, affirms the spokesperson of the CIUSSS, Jean-Nicolas Aubé, on this subject.
As of this Friday morning, 12 users and three health workers had tested positive. The three workers did not suffer any complications, but 10 of the 12 affected users were hospitalized. Nine are currently in a “hot zone” where movement is restricted to contain the outbreak, while one patient has been admitted to intensive care.
For us, this is proof that the vaccination works, because out of 10 contractions, there is only one in intensive care. Almost all of the people were fully immunized, which is why the majority of them are not in intensive care. That’s excellent news.
Jean-Nicolas Aubé, CIUSSS spokesperson
Mr. Aubé confirms that the authorities have already asked all staff to go and get tested “as quickly as possible”, as prescribed by the protocol of the provincial Ministry of Health and Social Services (MSSS).
The hospital remains “safe”
An outbreak “does not mean that the hospital is not safe, quite the contrary,” recalls the spokesperson. “At the moment, the outbreak is isolated in one place, especially since the Verdun hospital is the first establishment where there was a case of COVID in Quebec, so the staff has very good expertise with this kind of situation, ”he says.
The exact cause of the outbreak is not yet known, but it is accepted that all infected users were already admitted to the hospital when they contracted the virus. Epidemiological investigations must first be carried out by public health teams before knowing more. One thing is certain: this new source of contamination shows that “the virus is still present”, warn the authorities, who call on the population to continue to respect basic health instructions.
On site, messages were sent to staff members so that they wear the procedural mask at all times and wash their hands frequently, limiting their movements and respecting social distancing as well.
This is not the first time that the Verdun hospital has faced an outbreak of COVID-19. In April 2020, two outbreaks of contamination had been detected a few weeks apart.
At least 40 people, including five doctors, first contracted the disease earlier this month. Then, 13 patients hospitalized on the third floor of the south sector of the building had received a positive test for the coronavirus around mid-April. All however had had a negative test at the time of their admission.