A baby in the special care nursery at the Canberra Hospital is being treated for COVID-19.
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ACT Health Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith announced the case on Wednesday morning after revealing 28 new cases. A woman in her 70s died after contracting the virus at the Calvary Haydon Village.
Ms Stephen-Smith said the baby had been in the special care nursery at the Centenary Hospital for Women and Children for some time, and began showing symptoms on Tuesday night.
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Healthcare staff moved the baby to a COVID-19 ward, and advised family members to get tested and quarantine.
"Team members and other families who are assessed as either at high risk or moderate risk of exposure are also being contacted and advised to get tested, and to quarantine," Ms Stephen-Smith said.
The Canberra Health Services COVID exposure team is responding to the infection by liaising with the families of patients who may have been discharged from the special care nursery in recent days.
Health services are also liaising with ACT Health on potential related exposure sites outside the hospital. The territory's health authorities are coordinating testing of patients, families and staff.
"Enhanced infection prevention and control measures and protocols have been put in place to further minimise any risk, and impacted areas are being deep cleaned," Ms Stephen-Smith said.
Canberra Health Services interim chief executive Dave Peffer said the hospital had been caring for the baby "for a little while". He did not disclose the age or health condition of the infant.
"At this stage we don't have a known source of transmission. That is something that the team is looking at very closely," he said.
"We're working in partnership with public health, and we will look at that in the coming days, to identify that.
"The special care nursery is one of the few places in the hospital where we do have special visitation arrangements in place.
"We know that parents need to come in each day to potentially feed or provide that close care to their babies."
Mr Peffer said the COVID case had impacted only part of the special care nursery, which was separated into different sections. The affected part of the nursery was not allowing visitors at the moment.
Two medical officers had been deemed close contacts of the case, and health authorities were investigating the exposure of other healthcare staff.
"There will be a larger number than that in terms of nursing close contacts," Mr Peffer said.
"The risk assessment of the nursery also expands into some of those common areas that surround where people might be spending time, so that's all in flight at this point in time.
"It's an evolving situation, it's not something we've known about for very long."
Ms Stephen-Smith said the ACT government was monitoring research around the world on COVID vaccinations for children younger than 12.
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