Chief Medical Officer confirms physician with St. David's HealthCare is presumptive positive COVID-19 case
AUSTIN, Texas - A physician who practices within St. David's HealthCare has been confirmed as having a presumptive positive case of the coronavirus. It's not clear at this time which location the physician was practicing at.
There are a number of St. David's HealthCare medical centers throughout Central Texas.
"Upon learning of this physician's diagnosis, we immediately notified public health authorities and consulted with epidemiology and infection prevention experts," says St. David's HealthCare Chief Medical Officer Ken Mitchell, M.D. in a press release. "We are working to trace any potential exposure to patients, as well as other healthcare workers, based on the timeline of this incident."
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The majority of the interaction between the physician and patients/staff occurred in areas where most healthcare workers were wearing personal protective equipment (PPE), which reduces the risk of exposure to a very low level, Mitchell goes on to say in the release.
St. David's HealthCare will contact patients and providers who may require further observation and/or testing based on our risk assessment.
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"This exposure was not the result of a breach of protocol in our hospitals, and we will continue to follow our best practices for preventing the spread of the coronavirus," according to Mitchell.
The full news release from St. David's HealthCare is as follows:
A physician who practices within St. David's HealthCare has been confirmed as having a presumptive positive case of coronavirus (COVID-19).
Upon learning of this physician's diagnosis, we immediately notified public health authorities and consulted with epidemiology and infection prevention experts. We are working to trace any potential exposure to patients, as well as other healthcare workers, based on the timeline of this incident.
The majority of the interaction between the physician and patients/staff occurred in areas where most healthcare workers were wearing personal protective equipment (PPE), which reduces the risk of exposure to a very low level. We will contact patients and providers who may require further observation and/or testing based on our risk assessment.
This exposure was not the result of a breach of protocol in our hospitals, and we will continue to follow our best practices for preventing the spread of the coronavirus.