HAMPTON ROADS, Va. — Sentara Healthcare confirmed Tuesday that it has seen patients who tested positive for coronavirus.
Hospital officials are working closely with the Virginia Department of Health and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to ensure they are receiving coordinated follow-up and monitoring.
Out of an abundance of caution, Sentara says they are "proactively communicating" with anyone who may have had potential exposure to the patients while at their hospital.
Officials did not name the exact hospital where the patients were seen.
Sentara Healthcare provided the following statement about the cases:
We can confirm that Sentara Healthcare has seen patients who tested positive for COVID-19. We are working closely with the Virginia Department of Health and the CDC to ensure they are receiving coordinated follow up and monitoring. Out of an abundance of caution we are proactively communicating with any individual who may have had potential exposure to the patients while at our hospital. We have a dedicated system task force monitoring this evolving issue and providing the latest guidance to our clinical teams and our community. We are following our infection protection protocols to ensure everyone’s safety. Our hospitals remain open and ready to provide care. We will keep our communities informed as the situation progresses.
On Monday, the Virginia Department of Health confirmed the fourth and fifth "presumptive positive" cases of coronavirus in the state, and earlier Tuesday it was announced that a Virginia Beach couple has also tested "presumptive positive" for the virus. Officials say the latter cases mark the first two cases in the Virginia Beach Health District and the sixth and seventh cases overall in Virginia.
A man in his 60s and a woman in her 50s traveled on a Nile River cruise, which recently reported COVID-19 cases. The couple returned to the U.S. on March 5, and on March 8, they were tested at a Virginia Beach hospital.
The VDH says all reported cases in Virginia have been travel-related and say there is no evidence of community transmission of COVID-19 in the Commonwealth.
Stay with News 3 for updates.
