| In the interest of speed and timeliness, this story is fed directly from the Associated Press newswire and may contain spelling or grammatical errors. |
Vancouver hospital bars some visitors because of SARS case
Monday April 21, 2003VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) Visitors have been banned from a hospital ward after doctors learned a patient apparently has contracted SARS from a nurse.
Doctors at Royal Columbian Hospital believe the nurse contracted severe acute respiratory syndrome from another patient at the hospital. The second patient was listed Sunday as a suspect case.
Visitors were barred Sunday from seeing 59 quarantined patients whom the nurse has been attending. Two wards with potential SARS cases were closed to new admissions earlier.
Royal Columbian officials said families were being notified, but many nonetheless arrived Sunday to visit patients. Some visitors didn't know SARS was even a problem at the hospital.
``I just saw this sign on the door,'' said Lucie Imano, pointing to a notice declaring the fifth floor off-limits. ``It makes you feel suspicious when you see people wearing masks. Is it OK to walk around here? Am I going to catch SARS?''
Dr. Roland Guasparini, chief medical officer with the Fraser Health Authority, said the 10-day isolation period for potential SARS cases has been extended to 12, keeping the two wards won't be reopened for admissions before April 29.
A 10-day off-work period for staff being monitored for SARS also was extended to 12 days.
``We must err on the side of over-prevention,'' Guasparini told a hastily called news conference Sunday morning.
``People are arriving in Vancouver from countries around the world and we are screening at the airport, but some people are going to fall through the cracks,'' he said.
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