Seattle hospital: COVID-19 outbreak killed 1, infected staff

SEATTLE (AP) — A hospital in Seattle has confirmed a coronavirus outbreak killed one patient and sickened three others.

The Seattle Times reported that 10 staffers at Harborview Medical Center also tested positive for COVID-19 and are isolating.

Dr. John Lynch, medical director of Harborview’s Infection Control, Antibiotic Stewardship and Employee Health programs, said Friday that the patient died in the intensive care unit. The patient died Oct. 8.

He said the hospital is trying to determine how the outbreak occurred.

Thirty hospital staffers are quarantining after possible exposures, Lynch said.

Three patients who contracted the virus had been at Harborview for more than 14 days, which indicates they likely caught it at the hospital.

The state Department of Public Health, as of Oct. 10, had counted 321 outbreaks in health care settings, which includes hospitals, outpatient clinics, behavioral health facilities, supported living facilities, home health care, dialysis centers, and independent senior living facilities.

An additional 659 outbreaks have been recorded among long-term care facilities during that time period, according to a statewide COVID-19 outbreak report published Thursday.

Since the beginning of the pandemic there have been more than 96,000 confirmed virus cases in Washington and more than 2,200 deaths.