“We have and will continue to publicly share hospital-wide statistics, and out of all 1,800 staff members, we currently have 53 staff off work as positive cases or close contacts of positive cases,” the Bermuda Hospitals Board [BHB] said.
A spokesperson, “We have and will continue to publicly share hospital-wide statistics, and out of all 1,800 staff members, we currently have 53 staff off work as positive cases or close contacts of positive cases. Most positive staff cases are from community exposures originally, but this results in close contacts within BHB.
“The public will rightly want reassurance that BHB is protecting patients and staff to the best of its ability. By law, masking is a requirement in all BHB facilities for staff and visitors. Visitors need to follow this precaution even when with their loved ones in patient rooms as well as in public areas. The current omicron variants result in many people having asymptomatic infections so they might not know they are positive.
“Some individuals may also feel omicron is less severe so are more lax, but for vulnerable patients even the omicron variant can be life-threatening. Staff follow more stringent, internationally-agreed standards on wearing personal protective equipment in close patient encounters.
“We remain deeply grateful to our staff for continuing to adhere to these standards, and for their participation in a bi-weekly surveillance testing programme, as well as daily testing if they develop COVID-like symptoms, are close contacts, or are returning from travel. We also follow all government requirements as it relates to quarantine and isolation following a positive result or potential exposure.”
