COVID-19 outbreak declared at Langley Memorial Hospital after 1 patient tests positive

Fraser Healthdeclared a COVID-19 outbreak at Langley Memorial Hospital Tuesday after a single discharged patient tested positive for the disease.

The health authority included Langley Memorial on its onlinelist of health care sites with COVID-19 outbreaks Tuesday.

In a conference call with reporters Tuesday afternoon, Dr. Elizabeth Brodkin, interim chief medical health officer for the authority, said the single patient was in the hospital's general surgery unit.

The patient was discharged from the unit and went home, Brodkinsaid.Brodkin would not say when the patient was discharged, citing confidentiality.

Once at home, family members noticed he was displaying COVID-like symptoms. He went to an outpatient assessmentcentre and the test came back positive.

Brodkinsaid contact tracing is being carried outto determine how many patients and staff were exposed to the individual. Staff and patients are being monitored for symptoms.

"Any patient who is identified as a possible contact and any staff person who is identified as a possible contact will be tested," Brodkin said. "A lot of that has already happened. Some of it is underway today."

The patient is now self-isolating at home, according to Fraser Health presidentDr. Victoria Lee.

Lee said the affected unit is not accepting new patients or visitors but the hospital itself is open to patients.

Brodkin said even though it was a single patient who tested positive, an outbreakwill be declared at an acute care facility if the disease transmissionoccurred within the hospital to one or more patients.

In long-term care, Brodkin added, an outbreak is declared if even a single resident or staff member tests positive, regardless of where the infection was acquired.

Fraser Health's website lists nine other facilities in the health region with active outbreaks as of Tuesday afternoon.