A COVID-19 outbreak has been declared in the Stratford General Hospital’s medicine unit.
A COVID-19 outbreak has been declared in the Stratford General Hospital’s medicine unit.
The unit is now closed to admissions, hospital officials said Wednesday.
Visits from family and caregivers are being restricted, with the exception of those for palliative patients at the end of life. Hospital staff will make families and caregivers aware of opportunities for virtual visits, officials said.
Huron Perth public health is working with the Huron Perth Hospital Alliance to notify those directly affected by the outbreak. Contact tracing is also taking place, according to a press release.
Outbreaks are declared when two or more confirmed COVID-19 cases are discovered among patients or staff that could have acquired the virus in the hospital. It was unclear Wednesday how many cases are connected to the outbreak, but health unit figures show there were four people in hospital due to the virus.
There have been very few COVID-19 outbreaks in Huron and Perth counties since cases began declining in the spring, but there is evidence to suggest Ontario is entering another wave driven by the virus’s highly infectious BA.5 Omicron subvariant.
According to data from the province’s expert pandemic advisors, some regions in Ontario are reporting exponential growth in infections while wastewater signals, test positivity and hospitalizations from the virus rise.
Dr. Fahad Razak, scientific director of the group, said it’s likely the wave will peak some time in the summer. Evidence doesn’t suggest that BA.5 variant causes more severe illness, but Razak said the variant’s highly infectious nature could still do damage through the sheer number of people who catch it.
“Based on everything we’re seeing, the BA.5 wave, we don’t expect it to be that large,” he said, “but there are important steps that can be taken to protect ourselves and to minimize this effect as much you can.”
He suggested that people meet outdoors when possible and wear masks in crowded public spaces. He also stressed that people should get vaccinated with their third shots if eligible.
“We’re at the start of a wave. There’s no better time than now to go out and get that third dose, you’ll start to get protection within days of receiving the vaccine,” he said.
The BA.5 variant appears to be more immune-evasive, Razak said, meaning people who were recently infected can catch the virus again soon after.
Its transmissibility could also mean that many people, including those who are highly vulnerable to the virus, could become infected and experience severe outcomes, including death. Even a “mild” infection could cause weeks of disruption, Razak said, potentially forcing people to take time off work or school.
“As we shift to this mentality of trying to get through the worst of the virus, for living as much as we can with the virus, part of that is not allowing the virus to disrupt your daily life, and getting infected is very disruptive, even if you don’t end up in hospital,” he said.
Current strain on the province’s health system, contending with widespread staff shortages, means that even a relatively small rise in hospitalizations could be problematic, Razak noted.
“We need to be worried about the hospital sector,” Razak said. “The level of strain in it is really unprecedented. It doesn’t have the reserve that it had, the ability to rally that it did earlier in the pandemic.”
Staff shortages have recently caused disruptions to emergency room services in Huron and Perth counties. Most recently the Listowel Wingham Hospital Alliance announced on Wednesday three upcoming temporary ER closures:
- Wingham and District Hospital – July 9 at 5 am to July 10th at 7 am
- Wingham and District Hospital – July 10 at 5 pm to July 11 at 7 am
- Listowel Memorial Hospital – July 9 at 5 pm to July 10 at 7 am
“We regret having to take this step,” the hospital group said in a release. “All hospitals in Southwestern Ontario are experiencing staffing shortages, including nurses, physicians, laboratory, allied health and support staff. Hospitals are all working closely together to minimize potential service impacts as a result of shortages.”
-With files from the Canadian Press