A group of coronaviruses has emerged in a Massachusetts hospital in a non-COVID unit after an employee recently traveled to an out-of-state hotspot region, the hospital’s top official said Monday.
More than 30 people tested positive for the virus as a result of the outbreak at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, Baystate Health President and CEO Mark Keroack announced at a press conference.
Thirteen patients and 23 employees tested positive, he said. Keroack said one of the hospital employees had recently traveled to an out-of-state coronavirus site.
Another factor that caused the cluster, he said, were hospital staff members together in rest rooms taking off their masks without observing social distancing protocols.
“These simple failures could have occurred despite our screening employees detecting fever and other symptoms before each shift, requiring the use of masks and social distancing throughout the facility,” said Keroack.
“We know that there is no guarantee that this virus cannot spread even when precautions are taken,” he said. “Asymptomatic people can eliminate the virus and those who feel that they are somehow in an area without viruses can let their guard down from time to time with serious consequences.
“We have seen this in many other areas across the country,” added Keroack. “This event reinforces that COVID-19 is highly contagious and requires surveillance to contain its spread.”
Baystate Health has contacted all patients who received care in the unit from July 15 to 23.
The hospital has also been testing and tracking employees who work in the unit, as well as employees who spent more than 15 minutes in the unit.
For patients who tested positive, they follow up on contacts in collaboration with the state Department of Public Health and local health boards.
“We are deeply disappointed that this outbreak has occurred,” said Keroack. “And we are committed to an ongoing review of our security practices to ensure they are aligned with current science and guidelines.”
