Following an investigation by the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit, an outbreak has been declared on the seventh floor, both east and west, at Windsor Regional Hospital's Ouellette Campus.
Public health officials announced the investigation into two clusters, one at Windsor Regional and another at Hotel Dieu Grace Healthcare, on Friday. Hotel-Dieu Grace Healthcare declared an outbreak on the third floor of the rehabilitation tower Sunday night.
At Windsor Regional, a statement read, "we are now able to confirm that all patients swabbed on the 7th floor on Friday were all negative for COVID-19. Four staff who worked on the seventh floor are positive."
Although there has been no transmission between staff and patients at this time, the health unit has declared an outbreak.
The seventh floor is a medical or non-surgical floor with 60 beds and accounts for just over 10 per cent of the hospital's total capacity.
"The declaration of an outbreak on the 7th floor of the Ouellette Campus will create patient flow issues, and will start to impact scheduled and elective surgeries the longer the outbreak remains in place," said Chief of Staff Doctor Wassim Saad. "We will need to start to create internal capacity at both the Met and Ouellette campuses."
Patients on the floor will be swabbed again on Wednesday, and staff will undergo weekly testing starting the same day.
Other measures in place include cleaning and disinfecting all equipment on the floor, the use of masks and eye protection for all staff, and enhanced environmental scans. Admissions are suspended, and patients will not be transferred out unless their condition worsens or they are discharged home.
Visitation and student placements are suspended, along with services from community providers.