The seventh floor of Joseph Brant Hospital has been hit with a COVID-19 outbreak.
The latest information suggests seven patients have tested positive for the disease. Heather Teixeira went into the emergency department at 4 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 8, for issues with a feeding tube.
“By the time I got up to a room, it was dinner time on Sunday,” Teixeira said. “I spent 24 hours in a chair, sitting upright.”
Once Teixeira was in a bed on the seventh floor, nursing staff started swabbing people – but she said they did so in a rather nonchalant way as to not worry patients.
She overheard the nurses talking about a COVID outbreak on her floor.
“That was the 10th, and later that night and into the morning I started getting symptoms of a cold,” Teixeira said. “Now I’m thinking I have COVID. From that point on, they were swabbing everyone. The nurses were fabulous, they wore full protective gear, redressing for every room they walked into.”
Teixeira added there are signs up on the floor warning people about the condition of the floor, and HEPA filters were placed every 20 feet in the hallway.
Teixeira returrned home earlier today (Thursday), and is unable to find a COVID test.
“You can’t find any in the community anymore, which is odd because at the height of COVID they were handing them out when you bought groceries,” she said.
A letter was given to patients in the hospital, dated Feb. 11.
“We are taking this situation very seriously and are implementing essential measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and ensure your safety and the safety of our staff,” the letter reads. “All patients on 7S100 have been tested for COVID-19.”
The letter adds the floor will remain open to visitors who are feeling well.
Joseph Brant Hospital's communications team did not provide an update on the number of infected patients to BurlingtonToday prior to publishing.
