Mystery as Covid traces are detected inside a hospital ward at the centre of a virus outbreak – a WEEK after it was deep cleaned
- The Princess Alexandra Hospital’s Ward 5D was shut from March 30
- Deep cleaned after it was found to be at the centre of two virus clusters
- Testing this week revealed testing has found the virus is still in Ward 5D
Engineering consultants are inspecting a Brisbane hospital’s infectious diseases ward after traces of coronavirus turned up in testing there, one week after it was deep cleaned.
The Princess Alexandra Hospital’s Ward 5D was shut from March 30 and deep cleaned after it was found to be at the centre of two virus clusters involving 23 cases, which resulted in a snap three-day lockdown of Greater Brisbane last month.
Metro South Hospital and Health Service says deep cleaning was undertaken by contractors last week, but testing has found the virus is still in Ward 5D.
‘Subsequently, testing has shown COVID-19 related virus in Ward 5D, and further cleaning will be occurring of the ward today,’ a spokesperson told AAP on Wednesday.
The Princess Alexandra Hospital’s Ward 5D was shut from March 30 and deep cleaned after it was found to be at the centre of two virus clusters involving 23 cases
The service says engineering consultants are also examining the ward after maintenance reports indicated all isolation rooms were functioning properly.
Metro South stressed there were no patients currently being treated in the ward.
‘It’s important to remember that Ward 5D is currently closed,’ the spokesperson added.
Two patients with the highly infectious UK strain of the virus, who were treated in Ward 5D, spread the virus to healthcare workers who then inadvertently transmitted it in the community.
The PA Hospital, Queensland’s second largest, has been locked down since March 26 along with all other hospitals, aged care facilities, disability providers and prisons in Greater Brisbane.
Restrictions on those facilities are set to be lifted on Thursday if no further unlinked cases of community transmission are reported.
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk could also soon give the green light for virus restrictions, including mandatory mask-wearing indoors, to be lifted across Queensland from Thursday.
People are seen undergoing a COVID-19 test at a drive-in testing site at Herston in Brisbane
Advertisement
