Hamilton doctor is first reported case of COVID-19 in the city

Hamilton | Ontario | COVID | Latest News |

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Published March 11, 2020 at 3:25 pm

Hamilton has its first reported case of COVID-19.

Hamilton has its first reported case of COVID-19.

On Wednesday (March 11), Hamilton Health Sciences confirmed that an oncologist who works out of Juravinski Hospital tested positive for the virus.

HHS says the woman, who resides in the Halton region, recently returned from international travel and started experiencing symptoms.

She attended the emergency department at Juravinski Hospital where she was tested for the new coronavirus.

Proper infection control measures were taken and personal protective equipment was worn by staff and physicians who provided the care and testing, HHS says.

She has since been in self-isolation at home but HHS said she was working at the Juravinski Cancer Center the afternoon of March 9 and saw patients and interacted with colleagues and staff.

Those individuals are being contacted, HHS says.

Since becoming aware of this situation, HHS has been working closely with Public Health to determine and implement the most appropriate response.

So far, the response has been:

  • Those who were in direct contact with the physician have been directed to go into self-isolation at home, for a period of 14 days.
  • Others, including patients, who may have had indirect exposure because they were in clinic at the same time are being asked to self-monitor for any symptoms (fever above 38 degrees, coughing, nausea, etc.) and report the onset of any illness to public health officials.
  • There is no need for anyone else at the JCC or our other sites to take any action at this point. We have thoroughly cleaned the physician’s office space, the clinic area and other spaces at the JCC as required to remove the risk of the virus remaining on surfaces.

Going forward, the hospital says that:

  • We will continue to communicate with staff and the public about this situation as developments, if any, occur.
  • Hospital staff are instructed to stay home from work if they are feeling ill.
  • Hospital staff are instructed to avoid international travel.
  • HHS is doing all we can to minimize the impact of this situation for staff and for our patients.

HHS will be co-hosting a media availability with Halton Region Health Department Wednesday afternoon.

Photo courtesy Hamilton Health Sciences Facebook page

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