Delta Hospital closed to admissions due to COVID-19 outbreak, emergency to stay open

Delta Hospital is closed to new admissions due to a COVID-19 outbreak, health officials said Monday.

Fraser Health said in a statement that patients will not be admitted to the hospital for the time being. Patients who need to be admitted will be transported to another hospital in the Fraser Health region.

Delta Hospital’s emergency department remains open for urgent and emergent care and scheduled surgeries will continue.

“The outbreak is contained to the second floor, but we have closed the whole hospital to admissions in order to protect the patients,” Fraser Health president  Dr. Victoria Lee said.

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Eighteen patients have been linked to the outbreak, Fraser Health said Monday, and 17 staff have tested positive for the coronavirus.

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“Some of these staff cases were community-acquired and we are doing the task of going through each of those cases individually to determine where that acquisition took place,” Dr. Elizabeth Brodkin, Fraser Health’s interim chief medical health officer and vice-president. said.

Seven people connected to the outbreak have died, Lee said.

An outbreak was declared at the hospital on Sept. 16.

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Fraser Health said additional safety measures were put in place at the start of the outbreak. All appropriate staff and patients are being tested and contact tracing is taking place.

The hospital’s essential visitors policy is being strictly enforced, the health authority said.

— With files from Robyn Crawford