Update: COVID-19 exposure at UW Medical Center – Northwest
The infections involved patients and care team members in an inpatient unit.
Statement from UW Medicine:
UW Medical Center – Northwest has traced details related to a group of recent COVID-19 infections among patients and team members in an inpatient unit. UW Medicine care team members performed contact tracing and surveillance testing for all patients and staff on the unit and were able to quickly isolate cases. This quick response resulted in prevention of additional spread of the coronavirus. Care team members notified all staff, patients, and families of this event. All team members and patients have received medical care if needed based on their testing results.
We worked with Public Health-Seattle & King County during the response for consultation to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, perform contact tracing, and ensure transparency. In addition to providing medical care for staff and patients, the unit was closed temporarily to new admissions, and underwent deep cleaning to ensure ongoing safety. As of Dec. 29, 2020, the unit resumed normal operations and admissions. All staff have had the opportunity to be vaccinated.
“This is a reminder of how many cases of COVID-19 there are in the community,” said Dr. Seth Cohen, clinical assistant professor of medicine (allergy and infectious diseases). “Despite all the precautions we have taken, our community continues to see outbreaks, particularly among vulnerable populations. This is such an insidious disease. At this time, we do not know if the source of these cases was staff, visitors, or an asymptomatic patient. We continue to investigate this group of cases in hopes of learning how to best prevent others.”
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