hospital hit with virus
Employee visited hotspot, brought it back to Springfield
A coronavirus cluster emerging at a Massachusetts hospital after an employee recently traveled to a COVID-19 hotspot is the exact concern that a leading infectious disease specialist has ahead of the influx of college students to the Bay State.
More than 30 people have tested positive for the virus as a result of the outbreak at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, Baystate Health President and CEO Mark Keroack announced at a press conference on Monday.
Thirteen patients and 23 employees on a non-COVID unit have tested positive, he said. One of the hospital’s employees had recently traveled to an out-of-state coronavirus hotspot.
A leading infectious diseases specialist at Boston University said he’s “quite worried” about this scenario repeating itself in Massachusetts as the virus surges in many parts of the country, including the south and west.
“The potential for introduction from other parts of the country that have a much higher prevalence of active infections is a great concern,” said Dr. Davidson Hamer, a professor at Boston University School of Public Health and School of Medicine.
“Students are coming here for college soon, and it’s definitely a major concern,” added Hamer, also a physician at Boston Medical Center.
Starting on Aug. 1 in Massachusetts, people from out-of-state are required to quarantine for 14 days unless they’re coming from a state with low infection rates, or they can produce a negative test. Travelers who fail to comply with the new order will face a $500 per day fine.
One factor that sparked the Baystate Health cluster, the hospital CEO said, was staff members together in break rooms removing their masks without observing social distancing protocols.
“These simple lapses were able to happen in spite of our screening employees for fever and other symptoms before every shift, mandating mask usage and social distancing throughout the facility,” Keroack said.
“We know there’s no guarantee that this virus cannot spread even when precautions are taken,” he said. “Asymptomatic people may shed the virus and those who feel that they’re somehow in an area without virus may let their guard down from time to time with serious consequences.
“We’ve seen this in too many other areas throughout the country,” Keroack added. “This event reinforces that COVID-19 is highly contagious and requires vigilance in order to contain its spread.”
Baystate Health has reached out to all patients who received care on the unit from July 15 to 23.
The hospital has also been testing and contact tracing employees working on the unit, as well as employees who spent more than 15 minutes on the unit.
For the patients who tested positive, they’re performing contact tracing in collaboration with the state Dept. of Public Health and local boards of health.
“We’re deeply disappointed that this outbreak has occurred,” Keroack said. “And we’re committed to an ongoing review of our safety practices to ensure that they’re aligned with the current guidelines and science.”