COVID-19 outbreak declared at Iroquois Falls hospital
The Porcupine Health Unit has declared an outbreak at the Anson General Hospital in Iroquois Falls and says it is working with the hospital to ensure the safety of its staff and patients.
The 54-bed facility services communities in the immediate area and provides both emergency and outpatient care.
"Affected individuals have been given individual guidance for monitoring, isolation and testing as appropriate," wrote PHU in a Jan.15 news release.
"The health unit will continue to work with the hospital setting to provide infection prevention and control assessments and support the implementation of enhanced public health measures as necessary."
PHU but did not disclose the number of positive cases or if the cases were among staff and, or patients. Public health officials have not confirmed if there are any patients in hospital with COVID-19 or due to COVID-19.
PHU reported 880 active cases Friday afternoon with another 40 added on Saturday.
Of those 40 new cases, 16 are being reported from Timmins, 11 from the James and Hudson Bay district, 5 from the Cochrane, Matheson, Iroquois Falls & Smooth Rock Falls area, 4 from Kapuskasing, Opasatika, Val Rita-Harty, Moonbeam & Fauquier-Strickland area, and 4 from the Hearst & Hornepayne region.
It is not clear how many of the 5 reported from the Cochrane, Matheson, Iroquois Falls & Smooth Rock Falls area are related to the Anson General Hospital.
A hospital outbreak in Ontario is define as two or more laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases (patients and/or staff) within a specified area (unit/floor/service) within a 14-day period where both cases could have reasonably acquired their infection in the hospital.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Parents of infant who died in wrong-way crash on Ontario's Hwy. 401 were in same vehicle
Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit has released new details about a wrong-way collision in Whitby on Monday night that claimed the lives of four people.
Loblaw leaders push back on 'misguided criticism' of grocer as boycott begins
Loblaw's new chief executive, as well as chairman Galen Weston, pushed back on what they called 'misguided criticism' of the grocer as a push to boycott the company gains steam online.
TD Bank hit with $9.2M penalty after failing to report suspicious transactions
Canada's financial intelligence agency says it has levied a $9.2-million penalty against The Toronto-Dominion Bank for non-compliance with money laundering and terrorist financing measures as the bank also faces compliance investigations in the U.S.
Orangutan observed treating wound using medicinal plant in world first
Scientists working in Indonesia have observed an orangutan intentionally treating a wound on their face with a medicinal plant, the first time this behavior has been documented.
This Canadian restaurant just lowered its prices. Here's how it did it
A Canadian restaurant lowered its prices this week, and though news of price tags dropping rather than climbing sounds unusual, the business strategy in this case is not, according to experts in the field.
Prince William and Kate release photo of daughter Charlotte to mark ninth birthday
Prince William and his wife Kate released a picture of their daughter Charlotte to mark the princess's ninth birthday on Thursday.
Doctors concerned about potential spread of bird flu in Canada
H5N1 or avian flu has been detected at dozens of U.S. dairy farms and Canadian experts are urging surveillance on our side of the border too.
There's a limit to how much interest rates in Canada and U.S. can diverge: Macklem
Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem says Canadian interest rates don't have to match U.S. or global rates, but there is a limit to how much they can diverge.
B.C. mayor stripped of budget, barred from committees over Indigenous residential schools book
A British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.