73 Great Ormond Street workers ‘test positive for coronavirus’
More than 300 staff from children’s hospital are also said to be self-isolating
Friday, 3rd April 2020 — By Tom Foot
Anthony Costello. Photo: Wikimedia Commons
MORE than 70 staff at the country’s leading children’s hospital have tested positive for coronavirus.
Tests show that 73 workers at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) have been diagnosed with the virus. A total of 318 are also said to be self-isolating.
A former World Heath Organisation director, the renowned paediatrician Anthony Costello, said the information had been sent to him in an internal memo to all staff in the Bloomsbury hospital on Wednesday.
It said: “We now have eight Covid-19 patients across the hospital. Through our staff testing, we have had 73 confirmed Covid-positive staff members of of 181 tested. 318 staff members are currently off work because they, or someone in their household, are displaying symptoms. This is similar to yesterday.”
Across the country, five hospital medics are believed to have died from covid-19 so far.
There are widespread concerns for National Health Service workers who are putting their lives at risk by working without a proper supply of personal protective equipment.
Great Ormond Street Hospital is a specialist hospital for children with long terms problems.
During the coronavirus outbreak it has agreed to take all children in north and central London who need to be admitted to hospital. This has been decided to free up space in surrounding hospitals for corona patients.
Of the changes, a GOSH statement said: “To make sure we can deliver urgent care to children from across London, we are postponing all non-essential procedures, appointments and admissions.
“Our clinical teams will look carefully at every procedure, admission and appointment we have planned to work out whether we can reschedule it safely.”
