Coronavirus in Scotland: Outbreak among patients and staff at Glasgow hospital

A ward at Scotland’s biggest hospital has been closed to new admissions after an outbreak of Covid-19 among patients and staff.

Positive cases have been confirmed at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow, where control measures have been put in place in a bid to prevent the virus spreading further.

In a statement released on Monday, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC) confirmed the closure is a temporary move along with contact tracing taking place and self-isolation of .hose affected.

The health board said: “We have a number of positive cases in a ward at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital and staff are working extremely hard to ensure the appropriate measures have been implemented to minimise the spread of the virus.

A ward at Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow has been closed to new admissions due to a coronavirus outbreak.

“This includes the temporary closure of the ward to new admissions and other Covid-19 control measures.

“All those affected have been contact traced, screened and are self-isolating.

“All asymptomatic contact patients are being cared for separately from the confirmed cases.

“In the meantime, our staff continue to follow strict infection prevention and control guidelines to ensure we’re able to continue treating our patients without putting them at additional risk due to Covid-19.”

During Monday’s daily coronavirus briefing, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon confirmed 359 of the 961 new cases in the past 24 hours were in the NHSGGC area.

The hospital also houses one of the UK’s three sites that was launched earlier this year to rapidly expand testing capacity.

The Glasgow Lighthouse Lab, hosted by the University of Glasgow at the hospital campus, officially began Covid-19 testing in April.

Commenting on the outbreak at Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, Scottish Conservative health spokesman Donald Cameron said: “This is an extremely concerning development and my thoughts are with those patients and staff affected.

“The Scottish Government must take urgent action to prevent this outbreak spreading even further and ensure contract tracing systems are working as robustly as possible.

“Patients who rely on this flagship hospital must be reassured this is being investigated immediately.”

Last month, staff in the Medical High Dependency Unit also tested positive for the virus.

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