All patients in quarantined KGH wing test negative for COVID-19: KHSC

Kingston Health Sciences Centre (KHSC) says all patients in a quarantined Kingston General Hospital unit have been tested for COVID-19 and are confirmed negative at this time.

As previously reported, KHSC placed the Davies 5 patient care unit at its Kingston General Hospital site under quarantine after a staff member who worked on the unit tested positive for COVID-19. KFL&A Public Health has been notified.

The Davies 5 unit is normally classified as a Medicine Short Stay Unit, but during the COVID-19 pandemic, it has been used for patients that would normally be in Connell 3, a Transitional Support Unit. Connell 3, in turn, has been used as a temporary COVID-19 ward, according to a recent update from Dr. Stephen Archer, Head of Medicine at KHSC, on the Department of Medicine’s COVID-19 response.

“The quarantine was implemented out of an abundance of caution,” said Dr. David Pichora, KHSC’s president and CEO, in a press release. “Since we now use universal masking on all patient units, we expected the risk of transmission to others would be low. We’re taking all additional precautions to ensure there has been no spread of illness.”

The unit is closed to new admissions and visitors for the next 14 days. KHSC says all patients on the unit have been placed on contact/droplet precautions and are being closely monitored for signs and symptoms of COVID-19. KHSC’s infection control and occupational health teams are also conducting contact tracing for patients and staff who came in contact with the confirmed case.

The staff member who tested positive remains at home recovering in self-isolation.

Patient care services continue as usual in all other areas of the hospital.

“Keeping our patients and staff safe is our top priority,” said Dr. Pichora. “We wish our staff member a speedy recovery and we’re working with our colleagues at Public Health to investigate this case. We thank our staff and community for working hard to prevent the spread of the virus, including being cooperative with our screening processes, masking requirements and visitor restrictions.”

Members of the public who have symptoms of COVID-19 or concerns that they may have been exposed to the virus can seek testing at the COVID-19 Assessment Centre at the Memorial Centre. Please consult Public Health at www.kflaph.ca/Coronavirus for operating hours.