A COVID-19 outbreak has been declared at Timmins and District Hospital after seven patients tested positive.
There are a total of 13 patients admitted to the Timmins hospital with COVID-19, two of which were COVID-related admissions.
“Access to the affected unit has been restricted and enhanced surveillance continues throughout the hospital,” said Dr. Doug Arnold, Chief of Staff and VP Medicine, in a news release.
“While our staff are highly trained to work through these situations, we are asking the community to do their part to help lessen the impacts of this virus on our hospital, staff and physicians. Take precautions, including masking, when outside your home, limit your social contacts and, if possible, book your vaccine appointment if you haven’t already.”
Because of the hospital's ongoing pandemic measures, president and CEO Kate Fyfe said it can quickly respond to changes.
“I want to reassure the public that our focus remains on doing everything we can to ensure the continued safety of our patients, staff and physicians. COVID-19 continues to spread rapidly in our community and it’s extremely important that we take every measure to protect ourselves and our loved ones. This isn’t the start to the new year we wanted, but together we will get through it," she said.
New Visitor Restrictions
General visitation is not permitted at the hospital.
Effective Monday, Jan. 10, the new restrictions for Timmins and District Hospital are:
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No Designated Care Partner visitation will be allowed until further notice, with exemptions for specific circumstances.
- Inpatient Designated Care Partners who meet the exemption criteria will be required to:
- Proof of full COVID-19 vaccination. A person is considered fully vaccinated 14 days after their second dose of an mRNA vaccine; and/or
- Provide proof of negative Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) from the day of visit.
- Rapid Antigen Testing for Inpatient Designated Care Partner visitation will be available through the COVID-19 Assessment Clinic. Hours of operation can be found online here.
- Outpatient Designated Care Partners who meet the exemption criteria will be asked to provide proof of vaccination when they are screened at the entrance. Outpatient Designated Care Partners may be required to wear a higher level of PPE for the duration of the appointment.