A COVID-19 outbreak has been declared on a Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre (RVH) unit at the IOOF Seniors Home in Barrie.
Twelve patients and five staff members have tested positive in the short-term transitional care unit at the Brooks Street complex.
Positive patients have been either transferred to RVH’s respiratory inpatient unit or are in isolation rooms at the IOOF facility.
All remaining RVH patients at the IOOF facility are on enhanced droplet/contact precautions and being closely monitored and tested frequently, according to the Barrie hospital.
RVH officials say the outbreak is contained to its 27-bed unit, which is separated from the rest of the IOOF facility and has its own entrance. No patients outside the unit are affected and the unit is currently closed to visitors, admissions and transfers.
“The health and safety of staff, physicians, patients and our community remains our top priority and we are working closely with the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit and our infection prevention and control and occupational health and wellness teams to conduct a full contact tracing investigation to determine any risk to other patients and (staff from) RVH on the unit,” Janice Skot, RVH president and CEO, said in a news release issued Wednesday afternoon.
Anyone who has attended the IOOF facility or RVH’s main campus who has tested positive for COVID within five days of visiting is asked to call 705-728-9090, ext. 44555.
In a previous outbreak at RVH itself on Georgian Drive, declared Oct. 29 in the hospital's transitional care unit, 11 patients and two staff became infected with COVID-19, resulting in four outbreak-related patient deaths. That outbreak ended on Nov. 19.
Beginning Dec. 21, RVH returned to more stringent visitor restrictions to contain the highly transmissible omicron variant and protect patients, visitors and care teams.
