Eastern Health is going to start COVID-19 testing for all hospital admissions as well as scheduled appointments that require an aerosol-generating procedure such as an upper endoscopy or a bronchoscopy.
The measures are being implemented to protect all patients, clients, and staff. Existing measures, such as wearing masks and answering a questionnaire, remain in place.
Full implementation will take several days, so anyone who has a planned admission to a hospital or has an outpatient test for an aerosol-generating procedure will be contacted up to 72 hours in advance to have a COVID-19 swab.
For unplanned hospital admissions, such as an emergency situation or an admission to the case room, patients will be tested once it has been determined that they will be admitted to the hospital.
Eastern Health is going to monitor the effectiveness of this new procedure.