Sault Area Hospital declares COVID-19 outbreak in emergency department

A COVID-19 outbreak has been declared in the emergency department of Sault Area Hospital.

The outbreak has been contained to staff in the department, with two staff members testing positive for COVID-19.

Staff that have tested positive are isolating at home, and core ED staff are performing before-shift rapid antigen tests.

For more information, please see the SAH press release included below.

Sault Area Hospital (SAH) has declared a COVID-19 outbreak in staff in the emergency department (ED). At present, there are two confirmed outbreak-associated positive COVID-19 cases in staff in the ED, and the outbreak is contained only to staff in the ED.  Staff who tested positive for COVID-19 are isolating at home.  Core ED workers are performing before-shift rapid antigen tests.  There are over 60 positive COVID-19 cases in workers at SAH, though these are not associated with the outbreak.

The Ministry of Health defines a COVID-19 outbreak in a public hospital as two or more laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases involving patients or staff within a specified area within a 14-day period where both cases could have reasonably acquired their infection in the hospital. 

Despite this challenging time, our emergency department remains open.

Due to staff absences, patients may experience longer than usual wait times in the emergency department. Please be patient and kind with our staff as we manage multiple demands. Patients who come to the hospital are prioritized based on their medical needs and are not seen on a first-come, first-served basis.

If you have an emergency, please call 9-1-1 or proceed to the emergency department immediately. Do not delay care.

SAH is redeploying human health resources through our COVID-19 Surge Plan. Patients with non-urgent health care needs may want to consider these options before coming to the ED: call your family doctor, nurse practitioner or their on-call services. If not available, please visit a walk-in clinic - https://sah.on.ca/programs-services/emergency-services/community-health-clinics/.

If you are not sure whether you have an emergency, seek health-related advice from a Registered Nurse by calling Telehealth Ontario (24/7) at 1-866-797-0000. More information is available here - https://sah.on.ca/programs-services/emergency-services/