(CMR) Forty-eight (48) of the 377 nurses assigned to the Cornwall Regional Hospital in St James, Jamaica, have been placed in quarantine for fear that they may have been exposed to the coronavirus.
Dr. Delroy Fray, the clinical coordinator at the Western Regional Health Authority (WRHA), said the 48 include registered and practical nurses.
“When you are looking after COVID patients, and we suspect that you might be exposed to the disease, then we will have to put you off work until we are sure that you are not infectious before you come back,” Dr. Delroy Fray told Jamaica Observer.
Dr. Fray said it is customary to quarantine healthcare workers who have been exposed and are suspected of having contracted a disease. He pointed out that doctors have also been quarantined after being exposed to COVID-19 patients.
With 48 nurses out, there has been pressure on other nurses to fill the gap, Dr. Fray admitted.
“So what that means is every shift the matron… has to adjust her roster to fit what needs to be done. So it's a bit of a juggling. Sometimes we have to bring back nurses from leave; sometimes, we have to move some from the clinic area to come over. So that type of juggling is required. So that is what is happening,” he said.
As of Sunday, Jamaica recorded 76,451 cases of the virus, with 24,460 active cases. There have been 1,734 deaths. On Sunday, 753 persons were hospitalized with the virus.
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