All planned interventions will continue as usual in the near future. To give these patients a place, Martini makes beds available for them in other wards. New heart patients can no longer go to the Martini because an admission stop applies for the time being.
No more visits for patients
Now that there is an outbreak, the cardiology nursing ward is being isolated. This means that patients are not allowed to receive visitors and that staff work in protective clothing.
Tests: 50 patients and 200 employees
All patients and patients who have recently been discharged from the ward are tested for the virus as a precaution. It concerns about fifty patients. In addition, another two hundred employees are tested.
It also concerns employees who do not work in the contaminated department. ‘We test very broadly to map the virus, and the cardiology department has a lot of contact with other departments,’ says spokesperson Evelien Oosterbaan.
It is probably the British variant
According to Oosterbaan, the outbreak started to stand out on Monday. “There were infections since March 15, but the infections started to stand out on Monday and we speak of an outbreak.” The hospital is still investigating the source of the outbreak and assumes that it is the British variant. ‘We’re not going to investigate that anymore, but that variant is dominant, so we assume that is what it is.’
Not related to outbreak in UMCG
It is the first time in the corona crisis that the hospital has faced an outbreak. ‘It is very unfortunate that it happens after a year. We do everything we can to keep the hospital safe for everyone, ‘says Oosterbaan.
Earlier there were outbreaks in the UMCG and the Ommelander Hospital in Scheemda. One of the outbreaks in the UMCG was also in a heart ward, but according to Oosterbaan there is no connection between those wards and the virus. “It seems like a coincidence, according to our experts it is unlikely that there is a connection.”
Last month, a patient went from the Martini Hospital to the UMCG for treatment and contracted the corona virus there. That patient was then treated in isolation in the Martini Hospital. According to the hospital, there were no indications that this case led to new infections in the Martini.
More infections are to be expected
The hospital expects the infections to increase further in the coming days. “That is plausible, but we don’t want to get ahead of ourselves.” The source and contact investigation should provide more information on Wednesday.
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