Haliburton Highlands Health Services (HHHS) put out a notice April 28 saying the HKPR District Health Unit had declared a COVID-19 outbreak in the in-patient department of the Haliburton Hospital.
As of last night, there were three confirmed, asymptomatic, patients.
As a result, HHHS said all in-patient department patients had been isolated, the department closed to further admissions, and visitors limited to only those receiving end-of-life care. Volunteers were restricted from entering the department.
The release said although HHHS was already maintaining important Infection Prevention and Control (IPAC) measures, including mandatory masking, vaccination, regular surveillance testing, and active screening before entry into all facilities, enhanced cleaning will now be conducted in the department and staff will monitor themselves for symptoms.
“We know that COVID-19 is still circulating in our community,” said Carolyn Plummer, President & CEO. “HHHS will continue to put the health and safety of our patients, residents, and staff first, through our rigorous infection prevention and control measures.”
Services in the Emergency Department remain unaffected by the outbreak and community members in
need of emergency care should not hesitate to seek assistance, the release said.
HHHS has also been in contact with its neighbouring partner hospitals, including Peterborough Regional
Health Centre and Ross Memorial Hospital, in case an admission is needed to an in-patient department.
