Mynd: Landspítalinn
Cardiac ward in COVID scare
The entire cardiac ward at Landspítali national university hospital was yesterday put under quarantine after a patient tested positive for COVID-19. Staff and other patients were tested for the coronavirus and none tested positive. The ward has now returned to normal operation.
The patient was tested as part of pre-departure checks before leaving hospital. It is now believed the infection was old and no longer contagious. A statement from the hospital says the incident was a major one and that the response was fast, wide-ranging, and appropriate.
Around 200 staff have been tested and most results are already confirmed, with all due before the end of the day. All patients on the ward were tested for COVID-19 yesterday evening and all results came back negative.
A statement from Landspítali says the patient in question had been tested twice before without a positive result—likely due to very low viral load. Blood analysis supports this, as it shows the patient has antibodies. The patient probably had the virus before admission to the cardiac ward in December. Patients are regularly tested for COVID-19 during their stay, the statement says.
