Auburn (Wash.) Medical Center, part of Tacoma, Wash.-based MultiCare Health System, is battling a COVID-19 outbreak that has been linked to at least five employee cases, one patient death and eight additional patient cases, MultiCare said Nov. 10.
MultiCare officials identified the outbreak after a patient in the fourth-floor unit tested positive earlier in November, according to a news release shared with Becker's.
The system began testing for potentially exposed patients and employees. Forty patients in the unit were tested, resulting in eight additional positive cases.
MultiCare said it also began testing 212 staff members who were potentially exposed to the virus, and 156 results of employee tests were available as of Nov. 10. Five of those employee tests were positive.
"We acted swiftly to isolate the suspected and confirmed COVID-19 patients, creating a specific COVID unit for the patients. Sadly, one of the affected patients died," the health system said.
MultiCare said the five infected workers are recovering at home.
The health system said it will continue to collaborate with public health officials to identify the source of possible transmission, determine connections between cases and complete follow-up testing as needed.
"MultiCare is following all public health recommendations and has the PPE we need for our employees to continue to safely care for all of our patients at Auburn Medical Center and throughout our health system," officials said.