COVID-19 outbreak forces closure of Perth hospital ER

UPDATE | On July 6, Dr. Alan Drummond, an ER phyisician at the hospital, said the department may stay closed until the following week. Once it reopens it willonly operate daytime hours until staffing stabilizes, he said.

UPDATE | On Sunday, July 24, 2022,theemergency departmentreopened and returned to its regular hours of operation.

The emergency department at the hospital in Perth, Ont.,will close for five days due to a COVID-19 outbreak affecting staff at the facility.

The Perth and Smiths Falls District Hospital said it has "no other option" after the outbreak placed "yet another burden on our fragile staffing situation."

The emergency department at its Perth campuswill close at 7 a.m. on Saturday, July 2,and remain closed until Thursday, the hospital said in a release.

The department will gradually reopen as staffing levels stabilize, the hospital said, and will eventually be open from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m.

Remaining staff will move to the Smiths Falls emergency department to support an expected increase in patients during the closure.

The hospital saidthe Smiths Falls emergency department continues to be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It advisespeople to call 911 in an emergency.