The Grey Bruce Health Unit is working with Grey Bruce Health Services to investigate a case of COVID-19 in the hospital. The individual case may have had unprotected contact with staff and other patients. Public Health, in collaboration with Grey Bruce Health Services is in the early stages of determining who might be at risk of transmission.

Currently, there are no COVID-19 outbreaks, that is, confirmed transmission from person to person with two active cases, in any hospitals in Grey Bruce.

Public Health is the lead in all cases and case management. Determining who is a close contact is a decision that can only be made by Public Health. Anyone identified as a contact to the confirmed case, both in and outside the hospital environment, will be contacted by a Public Health case manager directly. Those at risk of infection will be contacted within 24 hours of the investigation.

Anyone NOT contacted by Public Health is not considered at risk and need not take any additional steps including asymptomatic testing.

There is no value in anyone being tested ahead of this. Early testing results would be unreliable and would put individuals at risk of more testing than is required.

The person who tested positive has been contacted directly by our COVID-19 Case and Contact Management Team. We are working with that individual to identify others contacts within the community, who may have been exposed and determine their risk level.

All contact tracing and determination of individual and community risk is made by Public Health. This is true of all cases, whether in hospitals, workplaces or the community. A health care provider or hospital official cannot make this decision.

source: media release, Grey Bruce Public Health