Babcock employee tested positive for corona – Brønnøysund air ambulance base closed – NRK

A Swedish employee tested positive when he arrived in Norway on Wednesday.

A second test is currently underway to confirm or deny the result of the first test.

Other personnel at the base are also being tested today, writes Babcock in a press release.

– It is a drastic step to close a base, but we want to be sure, says operations manager Hilde Sjurelv to NRK.

– Therefore, we do not have flights to and from Brønnøysund until the situation is clarified. The background is, of course, the fear of Covid-19 spreading, he adds.

Therefore, patients in this area must be picked up by another plane from Ålesund, Oslo, Bodø or Tromsø.

– How critical is this for emergency preparedness in this area?

“I don’t want to speculate on that. We see that we are currently well covered,” says Sjurelv.

The Brønnøysund municipal chief physician and Helgeland HF Hospital have been informed of the case.

The hospital: – Puts all resources in

Helgeland Hospital communications manager Tore Bratt tells NRK that they work closely with Babcock and others involved in the operation.

– Infection detection is done in collaboration with us, the municipal health service, Babcock and other actors.

– How serious is this?

– Covid infection is always undesirable in a service as important as the air ambulance service. Now it has happened.

– That is why we have put all our resources to clarify this. The facilities will be washed down so that we can get the service back up and running in Brønnøysund as soon as possible.

– What consequences does this have for emergency preparedness?

– We have air ambulance planes both north and south of us. It is probably handled in the best possible way.

Employees in isolation

Operations manager Hilde Sjurelv at Babcock says the employee will be tested once more to confirm or deny the positive test.

Four pilots and a technician work at the base and are now isolated and consequently out of service.

In addition, an unknown number of aviation nurses participate.

– No one should be infected at work or during transport. Therefore, we must ensure that the base is infection-free before deploying personnel or aircraft again.

According to routine, employees who are to perform the tests should not have contact with the patient until a negative test is available.

– Can you guarantee that no patient is exposed to infections?

– Nothing can be guaranteed, but as far as we can see, no patient has been transported by plane or personnel who have been in contact with the employee in question.

Sjurelv says they have been working on the routines for a possible infection since March, and in this case it has worked.

– Later we will evaluate if all the routines have been followed and if it is necessary to make changes.