A total of 55 employees at Tampa (Fla.) General Hospital have tested positive for COVID-19 during the pandemic, a hospital official confirmed to Becker's Hospital Review.
The count represents positive results since early March among the hospital's 8,000 employees.
Hospital spokesperson Phil Buck said employees who test positive are sent home to quarantine for 14 days from the onset of symptoms and must wait a week to have no fever or other symptoms before returning to Tampa General.
All employees and patients wear masks and are screened for a fever when they come to the hospital, Mr. Buck said. .
"Tampa General Hospital has experienced an increase in the number of inpatients with COVID-19. However, we are still caring for COVID-19-positive patients, and we have capacity for more," Mr. Buck said. "Our hospital treats COVID-19 patients in negative-pressure isolation rooms, which are designed to make sure any infection does not spread. We have 81 of these negative-pressure rooms and over 100 ventilators. We are closely monitoring our capacity and also working closely with other hospitals … to ensure that every patient in this region receives the best care."
As of June 22, the Florida Department of Health reported 98,047 positive COVID-19 cases in Florida residents and 2,170 positive cases in non-Florida residents.
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