Psychiatric hospital in Mexico registers COVID-19 outbreak

Biosafety protocols were implemented at Tampico’s Psychiatric Hospital after 23 staff members and 12 patients contracted COVID-19 and one died of the new disease.

Tamaulipas Health Minister Gloria Molina Gamboa

informed that the first actions were to isolate the patients, disinfect the facilities, tools, and equipment, as well as providing staff with personal protective equipment to mitigate the spread of the new coronavirus.

The results of the investigations showed that the source of infection corresponds to one of the intern practitioners who brought the virus from outside the hospital and that due to not following the security and prevention measures ended up infecting the rest of the staff.

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Authorities reported the death of a patient who tested positive to COVID-19 and who had been hospitalized for over three months as his relatives refused to pick him up; he was treated at the Altamira General Hospital , where he presented serious complications.

Molina Gamboa

said the whole staff at the hospital was tested and 23 employees , who are already isolated at their homes, tested positive for the new virus, while 56 tested negative; moreover, 12 patients tested positive (nine of them are hospitalized and 3 are asymptomatic), while three were negative.

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External care

at the hospital has been suspended (filling prescriptions and emergencies) although the service will be soon resumed. Access control to the hospital has been toughened with measures such as providing hand sanitizer and taking people’s temperature. In addition, the whole staff has been provided with N95 masks , disposable gowns , and goggles .

Molina Gamboa asserted the hospitalized patients are receiving all the established medical care .

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