Boston hospital investigates COVID cluster affecting 19

BOSTON — The number of coronavirus cases at Brigham and Womens Hospital continues to grow.

Right now, the cluster includes 19 people who tested positive. So far 11 employess and eight patients have tested positive. The cluster was discovered Tuesday and the hospital’s Infection Control Team started investigating where it came from immediately.

The hospital also immediately reported the outbreak to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, according to Gov. Charlie Baker. He told Boston 25, “We expect to work with them and their infectious disease specialists to chase down any additional cases that may have occurred as a result of that particular outbreak.”

The hospital believes it started on the 14th floor of the Braunwald Tower and spread to the 16th floor. So far:

• 98 employees tested – 11 are positive
• 50 patients tested – 8 are positive
• 445 more people are being tested

The hospital says it appears a patient or a staff member was the initial source of the virus.

And the hospital believes several factors are behind it, including: Many patients were not masked during staff interactions; providers did not always use eye protection; a staff member thought they had allergies, not COVID; and a lack of physical distancing and masks while eating.

We asked Gov. Baker about the cluster and he explained that hospitals across the state have had tens of thousands of cases and so far they’ve handled them all well.

“And yet despite that, the number of outbreaks we’ve seen in Massachusetts hospitals over that period of time has been pretty small,” Baker said.

The hospital is testing 445 more people and does expect the number of cases to rise. In the meantime the hospital advises long standing COVID safety protocols. They include:

• universal masking of both providers and patients
• eye protection during all clinical encounters
• frequent hand hygiene
• daily attestations of health for employees and visitors
• staying home if symptoms potentially consistent with COVID-19 are present (fever, sore throat, cough, muscle aches, loss of taste or smell, shortness of breath), even if symptoms are mild
• testing all patients on admission, repeat testing if in doubt
• rescreening all patients daily for new symptoms of COVID-19, test if screen is positive
• requiring patients to mask when staff enter the room
• practicing appropriate physical distancing, particularly when eating or drinking

It is safe to visit the hospital although some areas will temporarily be closed off to visitors.

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