Sault Health Care Worker Tests Positive for COVID-19

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Media Release
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47
Sault Area Hospitals
Photo Credit: Terry Wurdemann

On April 17, the Sault Area Hospital (SAH) received confirmation that one of their health care workers tested positive for COVID-19.

SAH is actively working closely with the staff member, our team, and Algoma Public Health. We have confirmed all appropriate and best practice infection prevention and control measures were taken to avoid the spread among staff and patients.

The health care worker was tested following the development of symptoms and has since remained in self-isolation at home. SAH and Algoma Public Health are working to ensure that persons impacted are being notified.

We know there is currently community spread of COVID-19, and we urge our community to continue to practice physical distancing, wash their hands frequently, and stay home.

The SAH team continues to work hard to keep our community and health care workers safe through continued infection prevention and control measures, including effective use of personal protective equipment.

To find out more about SAH, visit: www.sah.on.ca

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47 COMMENTS

  2. Praying for those who have been infected in our community. We as a community have been doing well to try and keep this terrible virus at bay. Let’s continue what we are doing. Thank you so much to our Hospital staff and to all of our essential workers for a job well done so far. Thank you to our community. <3

  3. I was real sorry to her this my hat goes off to ALL of the health care workers; this is a very scary time and we need them. Prayers and blessings.

  7. Problem with the current procedure of only testing when staff develop symptoms… presymptomatic and asymptomatic people transmit virus unknowingly … why are we not testing all front line healthcare staff at risk?

  12. praying for the patients that came in contact with this doctor…. while you are asking people to quarantine yet staff are going in and daily…. save to say they were not careful… or did a patient affect them….

    • Marnie Catherine REALLY??????? I’m surprised that this is the first one. Everyday all-day people are coughing, sneezing and spitting up on and near them. And this is the first case. Thank God they are being VERY careful.

    • Marnie health care workers are not limited to doctors and nurses. It is not “safe to say” they are not being careful. We have all the available PPE we can to keep ourselves and patients safe.
      It’s a virus. It’s communicable and it’s being dealt with.
      The staff going in and out daily are doing their jobs to care for those who cannot care for themselves.

    • What makes you think it was a doctor? This is a wiley foe. It is stealthy and will attack in the smallest most innocuous looking ways. Do you understand how differently doctors, nurses and other medical workers have changed how they routinely work??? IF it was contracted within the hospital, it does not necessarily equate to carelessness. It could something as innocuous as a non-symptomatic carrier touching a surface and 3 hours later this person touching the same spot. Think before you speak.

    • Yes their jobs but they somehow exposed themselves to it…. I hear social distances slows it washing hands and items.. that is what we are being told… we told how it is spread… if get it by not doing those things them I am to blame

    • Marnie Catherine …..no health care worker gets it because they did something wrong..they got it because they were exposed to it by putting their own lives and those in their families on line for you and your family and everybody else in the community. All the protective gear and doing everything right is not going to protect front line workers 100% of the time. This is not a blame game, it’s real life and it’s serious. Please show some respect and empathy instead of blame and recrimination.

    • So what’s next? Hopefully all staff will be tested and patients who had contact…I was under the impression weeks ago that healthcare workers were going to be tested hoping this is part of that process…

    • Karen McPhee Grant well they should… the article does not state no facts as to even where this person would have gotten it nor if they have weakened immune system. Or age .. those are important .. I am only going by what the medical community has to us in the first place.. the fear on this insane.. out of the claimed cases in ontario how many recoved.. I am just so frustrated as to what government claims as essential services
      . Liquor open ok fine.. but it’s not essential for me to visit my mother in long term… having being quarantined for their time period…. for this worker to be tested in the first place they would have had systems….

    • Marnie Catherine You are all over the place with that reply. Let me say this. Medical staff are taking all necessary precautions. Tests are NOT infallible……there have been false positives and false negatives. Because of a shortage of tests, they have been rationed and there are clear guidelines on who gets tested. There is NO 100% foolproof way to prevent spread. All we all can do is do our best to limit spread. The community has to do their part….if you want to be angry, frustrated .with aybody, be angry/cfrustrated with those in the community who refuse to follow the rules!!!

    • People like you make me sick to my stomach. This person is putting their life on the line daily for ignorant idiots like yourself. Clearly staff has to go in daily to take care of the sick and injured. Take your assumptions that they “were not careful” and shove off

    • Karen McPhee Grant if test ate not reliable as you saying then medical .. see medical community stated first it affected mostly elderly and those with weaker immune system .. so if that is no longer true they then lie.. so what makes me think they ate truthful about anything .. heard that Sault area hospitals or algoma public unit.. are ready and prepared for this… so what the rules wash hands and social distance ? Right so only certain people are getting test.hummm

    • Marnie Catherine praying for the health care worker putting their life on line to take care of patients as well. Ppl r so ready to jump to conclusions when they don’t walk in their shoes. 🤯

    • From a press release…

      We want to assure you that SAH is taking all the proper precautions and steps to keep all staff, physicians, and patients safe. This includes the use of appropriate personal protective equipment, limiting visitors, active screening of patients and visitors, increased cleaning and sanitation of our public areas and equipment. We will continue to monitor the situation closely. Together, we will continue to tackle COVID-19 with compassion, professionalism, respect and swift actions.

    • Marnie Catherine …what prevents it?

      1. Social distancing
      2. Washing hands
      3. Washing kitchen surfaces, door knobs, etc etc
      4. Wearing a mask when you leave your home…every single time.
      5. No handshaking, no hugs except those you are quarantining with.
      Launder your clothes after you go out and about.
      6. Keep hand sanitizer wipes in your purse and use them when you touch a door knob, someone’s car door handle, grocery carts,etc.
      7. Dispose of plastic grocery bags..do not save them unless you wipe them down.
      8. Use common sense and read some articles online that have more suggestions.

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