Brantford General Hospital is one of 24 across the province where outbreaks of COVID-19 have been declared.

BGH said on the weekend that five hospital workers tested positive for the virus over the last few days and one patient appears to have been infected in the hospital.

David McNeil, president and CEO of the Brant Community Healthcare System, which runs BGH and the Willett urgent-care centre in Paris, said quick measures were taken to contain the outbreak, which is restricted to a palliative and complex care unit in the hospital.

“The unit’s already been closed to visitors,” McNeil said. “And additional measures are being taken with more deep cleaning and enhanced precautions.”

He said the hospital has moved to mask all employees at all times, whereas previously only clinical workers were masked.

“The staff were identified in a fairly short period of time – about 24 hours — and as soon as that happens, we have to do contact tracing.”

Contact tracing tracks the movements of a person who has tested positive for a virus, looking at their previous 48 hours. Any patients and other staff members they’ve met with are tested and isolated.

McNeil said the contact tracing and testing turned up no further positive cases of COVID-19.

However, he said a patient tested positive who was not within that 48-hour window and who had not come into the hospital with COVID-19 symptoms.

“So, we presume that the patient was infected in the hospital.”

He said BGH has been working closely with Dr. Elizabeth Urbantke, Brant’s acting medical officer of health, and Public Health Ontario to review its handling of the outbreak.

Like the rest of the hospital, the palliative unit currently has a no-visitor policy but exemptions will be made on compassionate grounds as long as a visitor is fully gowned, gloved and masked, said McNeil.

Meanwhile, the COVID-19 assessment centre, operated by the health-care system, will increase testing in accordance with instructions from Ontario Health Ministry and directions from Premier Doug Ford.

Ford said more tests must be conducted on hospital patients, long-term care residents, health-care workers, first-responders, rural and Indigenous communities, shelters and group homes.

BGH workers are being questioned about potential COVID-19 symptoms before entering the hospital.

“We’re asking about headaches, upset stomachs and congestion, and that means we’re swabbing a lot more of the staff.”

He said there continues to be a steady but low demand from residents for testing, McNeil said.

He said that, on Friday, 14 people visited the assessment centre at BGH, and, on Thursday, the number was 31.

“On average we see about 20 people a day at the centre and in the last four days have tested about 16 staff a day. So, the demand isn’t huge but we’re available.”

McNeil said he thinks Brantford and Brant County, with 1,213 tests so far, are close to the testing rate for Ontario, which Monday reported 108,230 people have been tested for the virus.

He said there are no plans at this time to re-open an assessment clinic that operated for about two weeks last month at civic centre auditorium.

“At this point, we’re able to handle the testing within the hospital but if the situation should change, we stand ready to reopen the clinic at the civic centre.”

McNeil said the hospital remains a safe place to receive care.

He said the area is getting a weekly allotment of about 240 test kits, which are used in the lab to do the COVID-19 test.

“We’re working with Public Health Ontario to increase our access to those.”

He said the hospital’s supply of personal protective equipment – masks, gloves and gowns – remains a concern.

“It’s improved, but it remains tight,” McNeil said.

“All the donations we’ve received have been much appreciated but the consumption of these items is high because of the situation we’re in. We’re using conservation methods but we sure don’t have a 30-day supply. Most items, we have about a week’s supply.”

McNeil said he wants residents to know that the outbreak at BGH is under control and being monitored by experts.

“Maybe this makes it real for us as a community to recognize that COVID is here. This is why we’re taking the precautions we are and we have to remain vigilant.”

SGamble@postmedia.com

@EXPSGamble