Mediclinic Morningside reports 69 new Covid-19 cases

Mediclinic has revealed a sharp increase in the number of people who have tested positive for the coronavirus at their Morningside facility in Johannesburg.

Last week, the hospital issued a statement saying that four patients and 15 staff members had tested positive. Nine of the 15 staff members were health care workers.

The latest statement issued on Tuesday revealed that the number of infections had risen from 19 infections to 88. This consisted of 11 patients, 36 health care workers, 32 supporting staff members and nine allied health professionals.

More than 1,000 people had been tested as possible contacts of a hospital member who tested positive.

Since then, the hospital has closed its doors, barring any new admissions.

“To ensure the absolute safety of our patients, doctors and staff, the decision was taken to extend the period of closure for new admissions as part of our containment plan until April 27,” said the hospital.

“This will allow us to conduct a further detailed period of assessment and deep sanitation in accordance with the necessary protocols.” 

It stressed that it was doing all it could to avoid the further spread of the virus among staff that were still reporting for duty and patients who are still admitted.

“We had adopted the WHO and NICD guidelines to assess and test patients for Covid-19, the recommended infection and prevention principles specifically relating to social distancing, environmental cleaning, hand hygiene and personal protective equipment,” said the hospital.

“We also implemented further policies to limit the risks related to Covid-19 across the hospital, including strict access control with symptom and risk factor screening for all staff, visitors and doctors, terminating elective cases and suspending visiting hours.”

All their employees who have thus far tested positive remain in self-isolation.