The COVID-19 outbreak at Southlake Regional Health Centre has grown substantially over the past week.
There are currently 16 members of the Newmarket hospital's staff confirmed with cases of COVID-19 in the outbreak that began with one health-care worker infected on Nov. 21.
The number of infected patients has also increased from six to seven in the past week.
Hospital spokesperson Kathryn Perrier confirmed that the outbreak, which began in the assessment and consultation unit, remains contained to a single unit at the hospital.
She did not explain how the staff members or patients became infected over the past week. When the outbreak began, three staff members had been sent home to self-isolate as a precaution.
"As the number of patients and staff testing positive in our community increases, our goal is to avoid a widespread outbreak. All necessary safety precautions for both patients and staff are in place, and we want to remind everyone to continue to follow public health guidelines, including wearing masks, cleaning hands often and only having contact with those you live with," Perrier said.
In addition, another outbreak was declared at Southlake's Restorative Care Centre located on Church Street in Toronto. Twelve patients there and five staff members have tested positive for COVID-19.
