Roughly 50 patients were potentially exposed to COVID-19 across three wards at Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH) in the last week, The Nassau Guardian can confirm.
None of the wards, which include the Male Surgical Ward and Female Medical Ward I, are accepting new admissions, this paper understands.
A hospital source claimed that the closure of the latter occurred after an elderly woman tested positive for the virus over the weekend.
It is believed that patients in another ward were exposed by a healthcare provider working on the ward, according to a source at the hospital.
The Guardian understands that at least three more wards are expected to close at PMH as early as today.
The Public Hospitals Authority (PHA) did not respond to requests for comment up to press time.
Bahamas Nurses Union (BNU) President Amancha Williams said between 24 and 50 nurses were exposed to COVID-19 on the wards.
She said some of the exposures started as early as July 23.
“Right now, some of them are quarantined according to the exposure,” Williams told The Guardian last night.
“This is done by the employee health [services]. So, according to their exposure and some of them are still working with the same set of patients they’ve always been working with. So, they’re not accepting any new patient on that ward.
“They will be managing that patient providing that they don’t have symptoms themselves.
“They’re supposed to be quarantined by the government into a housing area or they will be quarantined at their home, provided that they are the only person living in their homes or they live in the home with someone but they have their own room and bathroom.”
Consultant Physicians Staff Association (CPSA) President Dr. Sabriquet Pinder-Butler said she was aware of the recent exposure.
However, she said the association hasn’t received any “formal communication” from its members or from the employee health services as it relates to the exposures.
Bahamas Doctors Union (BDU) President Dr. Melisande Bassett was unavailable to comment.
Bahamas Public Services Union (BPSU) President Kimsley Ferguson declined to comment.
The latest incident comes as The Bahamas experiences its second wave of COVID-19, with 343 new cases reported since July 8. In total, the country has reported 447 cases.
At least three of those cases were healthcare workers, The Guardian understands.
More than 200 healthcare workers from PMH and Sandilands Rehabilitation Centre (SRC) were quarantined in April following a possible exposure to COVID-19 at the facilities.
The post PMH wards closed from COVID-19 appeared first on The Nassau Guardian.
source https://thenassauguardian.com/2020/07/29/pmh-wards-closed-from-covid-19/
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