A COVID-19 outbreak at the Medicine Hat Regional hospital has been declared over by Alberta Health Services.--NEWS FILE PHOTO
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The COVID-19 outbreak at the Medicine Hat Regional Hospital has ended along with a similar status lifted at Chinook Regional Hospital in Lethbridge.
That leaves only the Cardston Health Centre on the Alberta Health Services acute care outbreak list for the South zone.
An outbreak is declared when officials can trace the spread of the infectious disease happening within the facility.
Medicine Hat came under the designation in mid-August when cases in 15 staff members and five patients were connected. Another outbreak in a single unit was declared early last month.
Both were lifted on Oct. 15, officials at AHS told the News on Thursday. At that point, there were 30 COVID-19 patients at the Medicine Hat hospital, including four in intensive care.
An outbreak leads to administrators bringing in additional isolation measures. In Medicine Hat it led to decreased visitation throughout the hospital, before Alberta-wide restrictions were imposed in mid-September.
Those rules, currently in place in Medicine Hat and throughout Alberta, limit visitors who are a designated support person to one per patient at one time, with the exception of end of life and pediatric patients, when two may be allowed.
A total of 22 Alberta Health or Covenant Health facilities appear on the “acute Care outbreak list released Oct. 20.
It notes the hospital in Lethbridge, the Chinook Regional Hospital, was removed the previous day.
Outbreaks continue at three major facilities in Edmonton and the Peter Lougheed Hospital in Calgary, as well as hospitals in Red Deer and smaller centres.
Separately, outbreaks in long-term care facilities in Medicine Hat remain in place for two facilities, and four local supportive living facilities, among others in Brooks, Bow Island and Taber.
