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All the infections, however, have been in the same unit; the virus has not spread to other parts of Western Massachusetts’ major hospital, Baystate officials said on Aug. 3. This demonstrates that the hospital is keeping the virus physically contained.
The unit with the outbreak has not been publicly named.
One week ago there were 36 COVID-19 infections due to the outbreak.
Now there are 55 such infections, MassLive reported.
This is a 52 percent increase in infections from one week to the next.
There are currently 33 employees and 22 patients who have contracted COVID-19 due to the outbreak.
The outbreak is spreading in a non-COVID-19-related unit. The outbreak is likely related to an employee returning to work after visiting another state where COVID-19 is surging, said Baystate Health President and CEO Dr. Mark Keroack when he went public with the outbreak on July 27. Some staff members were also found to have taken off their masks while together in breakrooms.
Keroack said that prior to the outbreak, the hospital system had no documented cases of COVID-19 virus transmission between patients and employees. He also announced a raft of new strategies to boost the hospital's previous COVID-19 safety protocols.
Springfield-based Baystate Health operates hospitals around Western Massachusetts including Wing Memorial in Palmer and Noble in Westfield.
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