About 85 hospital workers self-isolating after possible exposure to COVID-19

About 85 employees at the Health Sciences Centre in St. John's are now self-isolating after being identified over the weekend as contacts of a patient who tested positive for COVID-19, according to Eastern Health.

The health authority says the staff have been instructed to monitor their symptoms and are required to self-isolate for 14 days.Swabbing has begun according to normal protocol.

Sources tell CBC News that a patient, who tested positive for the novel coronavirus, was admitted to the COVID-19 ward at the Health Sciences Centre.

After the patient's condition improved, they tested negative for the virus, twice.

They were then moved to another ward at the hospital.

There, the patient's condition deteriorated. They were tested again and the results came back positive.

Contact tracing is ongoing, with staff from Infection Prevention and Control, Public Health and Occupational Health working together to find anyone who may have been in contact with the infected person.

Eastern Health said in a release Monday that the safety of patients, clients, residents staff and physicians is its top priority as it deals with the public health emergency and is reviewing how it can safely resume some medical services.

Read more from CBC Newfoundland and Labrador