Twenty cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed among staffers and patients in the cancer ward at Duke Raleigh Hospital, NBC affiliate WRAL reports.The outbreak has been limited to one fifth-floor wing at the hospital, which is now closed to visitors, Duke University Health System spokeswoman Sarah Avery said in an email to WRAL.Click the video player above to watch the latest headlines from WXII 12 News.Duke Health declined to break down how many patients or how many employees have the virus.The outbreak has only affected one wing on the fifth floor of the hospital, which is now closed to visitors, Avery said.All patients and staff in the unit are being tested, and staff is disinfecting all rooms and common areas. Infected patients who require hospitalization have been moved to the hospital’s COVID-19 unit.Duke Raleigh Hospital is conducting contact tracing to identify anyone who may have been exposed, Avery said.”One of the things that we’ll be very careful with here is that we’ll go back and have a look at where infections may have occurred,” Dr. Cameron Wolfe, an infectious disease expert with Duke Health, told WRAL. “Have we been able to reach out to everyone who may have been impacted, not just us but with the help of the health department?” Most Duke Raleigh Hospital staff have been vaccinated against COVID-19, but some have delayed vaccination “for a variety of personal reasons,” WRAL reported.Wolfe still encourages patients to get the COVID-19 vaccine, which has been proven to be effective at preventing infection and severe death from COVID-19.”Even if there is a small number of people who may still get COVID after a vaccine, that the severity of their illness is minimized,” Wolfe told WRAL. “So, in a setting where you see staff members, family members or patients vaccinated, these have been minimized.”
Twenty cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed among staffers and patients in the cancer ward at Duke Raleigh Hospital, NBC affiliate WRAL reports.
The outbreak has been limited to one fifth-floor wing at the hospital, which is now closed to visitors, Duke University Health System spokeswoman Sarah Avery said in an email to WRAL.
Click the video player above to watch the latest headlines from WXII 12 News.
Duke Health declined to break down how many patients or how many employees have the virus.
The outbreak has only affected one wing on the fifth floor of the hospital, which is now closed to visitors, Avery said.
All patients and staff in the unit are being tested, and staff is disinfecting all rooms and common areas.
Infected patients who require hospitalization have been moved to the hospital’s COVID-19 unit.
Duke Raleigh Hospital is conducting contact tracing to identify anyone who may have been exposed, Avery said.
“One of the things that we’ll be very careful with here is that we’ll go back and have a look at where infections may have occurred,” Dr. Cameron Wolfe, an infectious disease expert with Duke Health, told WRAL. “Have we been able to reach out to everyone who may have been impacted, not just us but with the help of the health department?”
Most Duke Raleigh Hospital staff have been vaccinated against COVID-19, but some have delayed vaccination “for a variety of personal reasons,” WRAL reported.
Wolfe still encourages patients to get the COVID-19 vaccine, which has been proven to be effective at preventing infection and severe death from COVID-19.
“Even if there is a small number of people who may still get COVID after a vaccine, [we know] that the severity of their illness is minimized,” Wolfe told WRAL. “So, in a setting where you see staff members, family members or patients vaccinated, these have been minimized.”