Public Health is investigating the possible relationship between the outbreak suffered by the Molina Orosa Hospital at the end of January and the cases that have been detected since then at the Insular Hospital, which now amount to four, including three patients and one worker.
For the moment, the last three cases have just been reported as a new outbreak, but it is being studied if it could be a ramification of the previous one, since the affected patients had been transferred from the Molina Orosa.
As the director of the Insular Hospital, Domingo Guzmán, has confirmed to La Voz, the patient who died this weekend was the first to have tested positive in this center three weeks ago, after being referred from the Molina Orosa, coinciding with the date on which the outbreak occurred.
The infections were confirmed in the Internal Medicine area, where she had been admitted, and her transfer occurred just before the outbreak was detected. Afterwards, while already at the Insular Hospital, she was tested and tested positive; and last Saturday her death was reported, at the age of 72.
After this first case, another was detected in another patient at the Insular, who had also been transferred from the Molina Orosa. And last week, after carrying out a screening at the center, one more was diagnosed in another patient, to which a worker was also added.
In the case of the last two patients, one was referred from the Emergency Room of the Molina Orosa and the other from the ward, and before the transfer they had a PCR done and it was negative. However, it is not ruled out that they could be in what is known as the "window period", since from the moment the infection occurs, the test takes a few days to test positive.
In any case, it is also being studied whether any of the infections could have occurred already inside the Insular Hospital. In fact, one of the patients who ended up testing positive was already being monitored for having been in close contact with another of those affected, having been in the same room.
Regarding the healthcare worker, the director of the Insular Hospital affirms that they are also trying to determine if her infection occurred inside the center or if it could have occurred outside. In her case, her positive was detected when carrying out a screening among patients and workers after confirming the last positive.
“It is being studied whether the cases are related or not to the Internal Medicine outbreak and for the moment there is no conclusion”, Domingo Guzmán pointed out.
The outbreak at the Molina Orosa has added 38 associated cases
Regarding that initial outbreak at the Molina Orosa Hospital, the Lanzarote Health area has confirmed this Monday to La Voz that up to 38 associated cases were detected. Initially four were reported and shortly after Health confirmed another six among patients, family members and healthcare workers, although since then the information had not been updated to the media from the Ministry.
As a result of a query made by La Voz at the beginning of January, the Lanzarote management confirmed that it had already reached 20 people and was considered closed, but now they have confirmed that the cases almost doubled afterwards.
However, they point out that the positives that continued to be detected were not within the Hospital, but in family ramifications, in the nuclei of coexistence of those affected.
Two patients admitted and one worker in isolation
After the death of one of those affected this Saturday, two patients remain admitted to the Insular Hospital with Covid. “They remain isolated and have not been transferred to the José Molina Orosa Hospital since they present mild symptoms and do not require special requirements”, the Ministry of Health has pointed out.
In addition, as the management of the Insular Hospital had already announced, they confirm that “following the indications of Public Health, the center has temporarily suspended admissions and has implemented control measures on visits”; and that it is planned that next Thursday the screening will be repeated among all the staff and patients of the Acute Unit, which is where the cases have been detected.
This unit, which is where the cases have been detected, welcomes short-stay patients, so none of those affected had been vaccinated. And neither had the healthcare worker received the vaccine, who Guzmán has specified is a worker hired on an occasional basis.