The number of patients and employees at a Massachusetts hospital who have tested positive for COVID-19 has climbed to 55, reports MassLive.com.
The outbreak in a non-COVID unit at Springfield, Mass.-based Baystate Medical Center totaled 13 patients and 23 employees as of July 27 after an employee visited an out-of-state virus hot spot.
Now 55 known cases have been identified, Baystate Health President and CEO Mark Keroack, MD, said during a news briefing Aug. 3. That includes 33 employees and 22 patients.
Dr. Keroack attributed the uptick to some late positives coming in from people who were part of the original cluster. Patients and employees who were on the unit July 15-23 were tested.
He said the fact that no new positives came from employees who were not part of the original group shows steps taken by the hospital "have arrested the spread of this cluster."
Those steps included strengthening monitoring of staff to ensure workers are following appropriate mask and social-distancing guidelines, designating new break areas for employees and enacting a more restrictive travel policy.
Read the full report here.
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