B.C. hospitals can put COVID-positive and negative patients in same rooms: top doctor
Patients who don’t have COVID-19 could end up in the same B.C. hospital rooms as patients who do have the virus.
Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry confirmed Friday that anyone who tests positive for COVID-19 while admitted to a hospital for other reasons is permitted to be treated in rooms with those who tested negative for the virus.
That would only happen “with additional (COVID-19) precautions in place, as we would for people admitted with other respiratory illnesses,” she said.
Sarah Adams’ husband has been hospitalized at Vancouver General Hospital for three months, slowly recovering from a serious illness not related to COVID-19.
“This shocks me,” she told CTV News. “Why would you put someone who you know has COVID into a room with someone who you know doesn’t?”
Health officials acknowledged it’s not an ideal scenario, but one hospitals across the province may need to consider. With the record number of COVID-related hospitalizations, some acute care facilities might not have enough space to continue keeping test-positive patients separated from others.
“That is an infection prevention and control team decision, made at a hospital-by-hospital, room-by-room basis, depending on the needs in that facility,” said Henry.
B.C. Health Minister Adrian Dix said it comes down to managing hospital space as best as possible.
“The challenge of having more people in hospital is the challenge of cohorting everybody becoming much more difficult,” he said. “That’s why we have on site infection control teams taking charge of the situation.”
Fraser Health did not provide CTV News with details on how hospitals in that health authority will approach the mixing of patients with and without COVID-19. Vancouver Coastal Health did not respond to a request for more information.
Adams fears the progress her husband has made during his months-long recovery could be upended if he catches COVID-19. While she trusts the health-care system in general, she thinks the province is making a mistake with this policy.
“I feel like I’m leaving my loved one to be in a room with someone who could get him potentially even sicker than he is now.”
If someone with COVID-19 is moved into a room with people who don’t have the virus, Adams says hospital staff should be required to share that information with the other patients and their families.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Young people 'tortured' if stolen vehicle operations fail, Montreal police tell MPs
One day after a Montreal police officer fired gunshots at a suspect in a stolen vehicle, senior officers were telling parliamentarians that organized crime groups are recruiting people as young as 15 in the city to steal cars so that they can be shipped overseas.
'It was joy': Trapped B.C. orca calf eats seal meat, putting rescue on hold
A rescue operation for an orca calf trapped in a remote tidal lagoon off Vancouver Island has been put on hold after it started eating seal meat thrown in the water for what is believed to be the first time.
Man sets self on fire outside New York court where Trump trial underway
A man set himself on fire on Friday outside the New York courthouse where Donald Trump's historic hush-money trial was taking place as jury selection wrapped up, but officials said he did not appear to have been targeting Trump.
Sask. father found guilty of withholding daughter to prevent her from getting COVID-19 vaccine
Michael Gordon Jackson, a Saskatchewan man accused of abducting his daughter to prevent her from getting a COVID-19 vaccine, has been found guilty for contravention of a custody order.
Mandisa, Grammy award-winning 'American Idol' alum, dead at 47
Soulful gospel artist Mandisa, a Grammy-winning singer who got her start as a contestant on 'American Idol' in 2006, has died, according to a statement on her verified social media. She was 47.
She set out to find a husband in a year. Then she matched with a guy on a dating app on the other side of the world
Scottish comedian Samantha Hannah was working on a comedy show about finding a husband when Toby Hunter came into her life. What happened next surprised them both.
B.C. judge orders shared dog custody for exes who both 'clearly love Stella'
In a first-of-its-kind ruling, a B.C. judge has awarded a former couple joint custody of their dog.
Saskatoon police to search landfill for remains of woman missing since 2020
Saskatoon police say they will begin searching the city’s landfill for the remains of Mackenzie Lee Trottier, who has been missing for more than three years.
Shivering for health: The myths and truths of ice baths explained
In a climate of social media-endorsed wellness rituals, plunging into cold water has promised to aid muscle recovery, enhance mental health and support immune system function. But the evidence of such benefits sits on thin ice, according to researchers.