A HOSPITAL in County Kildare has confirmed there has been an outbreak of Covid-19 identified in one of their wards.
Naas General Hospital was notified of the outbreak, which is believed to have been identified in one person on the ward, on Monday, and confirmed the news yesterday, Tuesday 11 August.
The news comes days after three counties-- Kildare, Offaly and Laois-- reimposed lockdown restrictions following a large number of new coronavirus cases linked to clusters in meat and food processing factories.
Those outbreaks led to fears of the heightened risk of community transmission as those workers live and mix with the local community.
The 31-bed ward has been closed to new admissions and the patients already in the wards are being cared for.
Other patients' tests have returned negative, and tests are now being undertaken on staff (Stock image)The hospital has said that swab tests of patients in the ward have come back negative, and testing and contact tracing of staff is underway- all staff members identified as being a close contact of the infected patient have been told to self-isolate until the test results are available.
The Irish Times reports that the source of the outbreak may have been a member of cleaning staff who has tested positive for the disease.
According to HSE guidelines, the outbreak would become a 'cluster' if two or more cases could be linked back to one case.
A spokesperson for Naas General Hospital assured staff and patients that "the appropriate steps have been taken in accordance with the national guidelines.
"Staff and patients have been provided with key Hospital contacts should any concerns need to be addressed.
"The protection of public health is of utmost importance to the Hospital and every effort is being taken to reduce the spread of Covid-19 at this time."
Anybody who is experiencing flu-like symptoms including a cough or fever is urged to contact their GP without delay, and to immediately restrict their movements to prevent the potential transmission of the disease.
Yesterday, the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HSPC) confirmed that one person had passed away from the virus.
35 new cases were identified within the community, a drop in numbers compared to recent days, bringing Ireland's total to 26,081 confirmed cases.
