ST. JOHN'S — Eastern Health says the self-quarantine of about 100 of its staff working at the Health Sciences Centre has caused a few logistics issues, but no major disruption of services.
And the vice-president of medical services says the measure has been taken primarily as an extra precaution.
“It’s better to be over-cautious and protect our staff and our patients from possible exposure when you’re not 100 per cent certain what you should be doing on a day-to-day basis,” Dr. Larry Alteen told The Telegram Tuesday. “Our job is to be over-cautious rather than be under-cautious.”
The step was taken Sunday after a patient who had been deemed recovered from COVID-19 tested positive again three days after being transferred from the critical care unit to a regular unit.
The patient had become very ill again and had to be sent back to intensive care.
Staff in both units, as well as specialists, blood collectors and other people who come in and out of the units, were sent to hotels for isolation. So far, all of those traced as possible contacts have tested negative, but testing will continue.
Alteen said the positive test that precipitated the move back to intensive care may have been a false positive, which seems plausible, since two different swabs since Saturday have come back negative.
“The challenge with this is the nuances of the test itself. It’s not that the test is a good test or a bad test. It’s understanding what this test tests for.”
The problem, he said, is that the swabs are too sensitive in some ways, and don’t show whether the viral genetic material they pick up is alive and replicating or is dormant or dead.
He explained that the recurrence of symptoms in the patient may be something secondary to COVID-19.
“You don’t have years of experience with this new virus. It’s a constantly changing environment, and the literature is changing on this day to day.”
Alteen said the fact that there is extra capacity at the hospital makes the sudden lack of staff manageable for now.
That could change as health authorities start resuming elective surgeries.
Asked whether this will result in any changes in protocol when releasing patients from the COVID-19 section, Alteen was clear.
“The answer to that is yes.”
Nurses react
The extra hospital capacity is one factor that puzzled nurses’ union president Debbie Forward.
She wants to know why the patient was moved to a ward in a busy unit when so many nurses expressed their dismay at the decision.
Forward says she’s been inundated with calls from nurses who say their opinions and concerns are not being taken seriously. She says some staff repeatedly expressed their alarm at the fact the patient was moved into the unit.
“I cannot stress enough how much stress and anxiety this has caused our members,” she told The Telegram.
She said it surprises her that health officials will say they have so much to learn about the coronavirus, yet are dismissive of frontline staff who have plenty of experience in their field.
“It’s very disheartening not be taken seriously as a professional,” she said.
She also agreed that new protocols are needed when releasing patients from COVID-19 care.
At the daily COVID-19 briefing Tuesday, Premier Dwight Ball went out of his way to thank those workers who had to go into quarantine.
“Please know that we will continue to be with you and support you,” he said. “You have supported us as a population for many years, and we will support you at this time.”
Peter Jackson is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter covering health for The Telegram.
