‘Exceptional outbreak’ of COVID-19 in ENT ward, investigation underway

A cluster of COVID-19 cases traced back to Mater Dei Hospital’s ENT ward is being investigated by the health authorities to determine the source of this “exceptional outbreak”.

There were 18 positive cases of coronavirus linked to the ENT ward, which deals with ailments related to the ear, nose and throat.

Mater Dei CEO Celia Falzon confirmed the outbreak to MaltaToday on Sunday, adding that investigations were underway to determine the cause.

She was responding to a series of questions after MaltaToday received information that the hospital’s Infection Control Unit only acted five days after a doctor in the ward resulted positive.

The doctor tested positive on 5 May but his colleagues only got to know five days later when other cases cropped up.

The ICU is tasked with locating and containing outbreaks of infectious diseases within the hospital.

But Falzon dismissed the claims of inertia, insisting that contact tracing efforts started immediately after the first positive case was registered.

“From the information provided by the individual in question no ENT staff members fell within the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control’s (ECDC) criteria to be considered as significant contacts,” she said.

Falzon added that current information still has not concluded that this case was actually the source of the subsequent outbreak five days later.

“Further scientific tests are continuing in efforts to determine the actual causes of this exceptional outbreak. 17 cases have been presumptively linked to this incident, the tests previously mentioned are being undertaken in efforts to determine whether these were all indeed related,” she said.

Sources who spoke to MaltaToday said that a nurse who tested positive after learning of the first case had been working throughout those five days.

Nurses in the ward were only swabbed on their own personal initiative after calling 111, according to the sources.

“I found out through another doctor who was replacing the sick doctor’s shift. We took a swab for all of the staff because we felt it was the right thing to do, not because someone instructed us to do so,” one of the sources said.

Initial information received by MaltaToday in May had suggested that the outbreak might have stemmed from an issue with the ward’s ventilation system.

However, when asked about this, Public Health Superintendent Charmaine Gauci could only confirm that an investigation by hospital’s infection control specialists was underway.

Independent MP Godfrey Farrugia, whose brother works in the hospital’s ENT ward, had mentioned the issue in parliament.