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A South Dublin hospital said 31 patients had contracted Covid-19 following a significant outbreak at the facility, and 58 nursing staff were either unavailable with the virus or self-isolating as close contacts.
St Columcille Hospital, Loughlinstown, confirmed that another nine patients had contracted coronavirus since Thursday.
The hospital has decided this Monday to close its medical evaluation unit for two days from 5:00 p.m.
This follows a decision late last week to suspend outpatient appointments because of the outbreak.
In a statement, a hospital spokeswoman said that currently 58 members of the nursing staff “are not available” as they had contracted Covid-19 or had been considered close contacts of confirmed cases.
“This is a situation in constant change and is being monitored continuously so. According to the national occupational health guide, some of the staff are expected to return early next week, ”he said.
“St Columcille Hospital, Loughlinstown, continues to respond to pressures stemming from a Covid-19 outbreak that occurred in late October … The Covid Hospital Plan is being implemented and progress has been made to stabilize the situation,” the spokeswoman said .
Last week, The Irish Times reported that the hospital was dealing with an outbreak involving 22 patients, which arose from transmission of the virus within the facility.
St Columcille’s Hospital is an acute care hospital with over 100 beds serving southeast Dublin and east Wicklow. The facility had not reported a case of Covid-19 for several months before the current outbreak.
Closing two days of medical evaluation unit is a new attempt to limit the spread of the outbreak. The hospital’s injury unit remains open.
“The hospital has reached out to the local community and GPs and asked patients in need of care to be redirected to St Michael’s Dun Laoghaire Hospital,” the spokeswoman said.
“The message to the public is do not delay in seeking medical attention. Contact your GP, who will refer you to an appropriate facility that should require further care, ”he said.
The first case of the outbreak was identified when a patient, who was asymptomatic, was examined, according to protocol, before a pending transfer to Hospital de San Vicente in late October. The patient had been in St Columcille for several weeks.
In the wake of the first positive case, the hospital implemented a “surveillance process” to evaluate all patients and staff who were considered close contacts. However, it is understood that there were some internal concerns that the number of staff that were considered close contacts in the initial case was too limited.
The hospital has stated that it has followed the guidelines of the Health Services Executive and the Center for Health Protection Surveillance.
If staff have been wearing masks and following precautions when interacting with patients who later tested positive, “they are considered casual contacts and testing is not recommended,” the hospital spokeswoman said.
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