Patients test positive after admission
Two patients at the George Hospital have tested positive for Covid-19 this week after being admitted while being asymptomatic.
One of them was transferred to Mediclinic George while his status was unknown.
Mediclinic manager Kassie Karstens said because of the patient's serious condition, he was placed directly in ICU. As with every patient admitted, he was tested for Covid-19.
George Herald has learned from a trusted source that between 16 and 18 May, this man had gone through the emergency centre of the George Hospital and the radiology unit, and had also been admitted to the ICU, before being transferred to Mediclinic.
Karstens said the staff handled the patient as if Covid-19 positive, even though they did not know his test results. "We keep all patients admitted to the hospital separate. Patients who do not have a test result are kept in a separate room, given masks and kept apart until their results are known. We now receive results from the lab within four hours, so four hours later the patient can be moved from the private room."
He said staff members must wear personal protective equipment and are therefore always protected. "Staff are screened daily to ensure they don't have symptoms."
According to the newspaper's source, the other Covid-19 patient at George Hospital was tested about a week after admission. His test result was received on Tuesday 19 May. This patient had been accommodated in the psychiatry ward and in a general ward, according to our source.
Nadia Ferreira, district spokesperson for the Western Cape Health Department, confirmed that two patients tested positive while being treated at George Hospital, but did not confirm in which areas in the hospital they were accommodated. "Potentially exposed patients are being quarantined, evaluated, and tested as required. All staff that were on duty in the different areas during this time will undergo a personal risk assessment and will be managed in line with the provincial guidelines. Discharged close-contact patients will be contacted for testing and follow-up.
"George Hospital takes the safety of our patients and staff seriously. All staff are equipped with the correct personal protective equipment for the area they work in. Everyone entering the facility is screened for Covid-19. In these specific cases, patients did not show any symptoms or were suspected of having Covid-19."
She said in the event that a positive case is confirmed at any health facility, the health facility or the specific contaminated area within the facility may be temporarily closed to allow for the containment of the spread of the virus, as well as decontamination.
"As per protocol, the facility or affected area will be decontaminated, deep cleaned in line with prescribed infection prevention standards and reopened with staff who do not pose a risk."
Female patient's condition improving
A female Covid-19 patient admitted to Mediclinic last week is still in ICU, but her condition is improving, according to Karstens. He confirmed that a third Covid-19 patient was admitted this week, but is not in ICU.