(ASHLEY LEGASSIC - REPORTER / iNFOnews.ca)
November 10, 2021 - 2:59 PM
Interior Health is restricting visitors at Royal Inland Hospital as it tries to grapple with ongoing COVID-19 outbreaks.
Only essential visitors are allowed at the hospital, effective immediately, according to an Interior Health news release issued today, Nov. 10.
Essential visitors includes visits to patients in the emergency department or intensive care; pediatric, labour and delivery; and necessary visits to support a patient's physical care, mental well-being or decision-making.
READ MORE: COVID outbreaks at three Okanagan, Shuswap schools send hundreds of children home
Compassionate care, including critical illness, palliative care, hospice, end-of-life and medical assistance in dying are also considered essential visits.
Services will continue at the hospital, which is the largest in the Thompson region, and Interior Health says it remains safe to visit for emergency care.
Interior Health announced on Nov. 9 that a second outbreak began at Unit 7N, which included four patients. The ongoing Unit 5S outbreak had amassed a total of 20 patients infected and seven staff members or others.
READ MORE: COVID-19 hammering B.C. Interior’s two biggest hospitals: health officials
There has been one death connected to the recent Royal Inland Hospital outbreaks.
Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said on Tuesday that Interior Health is investigating to determine how the virus entered the hospital and how it was transmitted.
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