Three units at St. Joseph's Health Centre battling COVID-19 outbreaks

Multiple units at St. Joseph’s Health Centre have declared COVID-19 outbreaks in recent days.

According to Unity Health Network, the 3M (Medicine) unit, 4L (Medicine) unit, and 4E unit at the west-end hospital are all facing virus outbreaks as of January 15.

An outbreak has also been reported at the hospital’s Reactivation Care Centre, which is located near Jane Street and Highway 401.

Unity Health states on its website that an outbreak is declared when a unit sees two COVID-19 cases within a 14-day period, where both cases could reasonably have been acquired in hospital.

“When an outbreak is declared, our teams reach out to any patients, staff, physicians and learners who had direct contact with a positive case to advise of next steps,” they said.

The hospital network said it takes several measures to contain an outbreak, including closing the affected unit to new admissions and enhancing cleaning procedures.

As well, additional testing will be conducted for patients, staff physicians, and learners.

“Our hospitals remain open and there is no reason to be worried about coming to any Unity Health Toronto location or our Emergency Departments,” the network said.

“All Unity Health Toronto locations remain safe places to receive care.”