Hamilton dialysis nurse among the city's 43 COVID-19 cases

A nurse who works in two Hamilton dialysis units is the third local health care worker to test positive for COVID-19.

Hamilton Public Health says the nurse works at the Charlton campus of St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton, and also provided dialysis care at Hamilton General Hospital.

The nurse wore a mask, gloves and face shield on the job, Hamilton Public Health said in a media release. The nurse worked March 19 and didn't have symptoms, but first experienced them at home on March 21 and didn't return to work. The nurse was tested for COVID-19 on March 25.

The nurse currently has mild symptoms and is self isolating at home. Public Health didn't release any details about the person's age or gender.

Dr. Bart Harvey, associate medical officer of health, said Public Health is still tracking down and notifying people who had contact with the nurse.

"We're still in the very early hours — literally — of investigating this, so at this point, we don't know that," he said during a Thursday media briefing.

This is the third Hamilton health care worker to have COVID-19, Harvey said, but he couldn't elaborate on who the other two are.

That list doesn't include the first known local case — an oncologist at Juravinski Cancer Centre. That oncologist wasn't counted as a Hamilton case because she's a Burlington resident.

Hamilton has 43 confirmed cases of COVID-19 as of noon Thursday, up four from the day before. Of those, 34 are travel related and nine are the result of community spread. Harvey said as time goes on, community spread will be more common.

"That's just the nature of this outbreak and the nature of this virus," he said. 

Two Hamilton cases were at Heritage Green nursing home in Stoney Creek, and one of those patients died. Seven cases have required hospitalization.

Hamilton has two assessment centres, and 761 people have been tested since March 16.