A ward at Northland’s Whangārei Hospital remains closed to visitors due to Covid-19 infections, and visitors to other wards are being urged not to come in if they are unwell.
Ward 1, an orthopaedic ward at Whangārei, was closed to visitors last Thursday after an unknown number of patients tested positive for the virus.
The Covid-19 infection was thought to have been brought in by visitors or staff who had no symptoms.
The visitor policy was reviewed on Monday, but the restrictions have been extended to Thursday to allow all patients to recover, said Sarah Hoyle, incident controller for Te Whatu Ora Te Tai Tokerau, formerly Northland District Health Board.
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Various other infection control measures remain in place at the hospital, including the use of N95 masks and isolation of infected patients, Hoyle said.
“New patients admitted to ward 1 are being placed in an area away from Covid-19 positive patients,” she said.
Ella Bates-Hermans/Stuff
A spike in Covid-19 infections has forced Whangārei Hospital to close a ward to visitors and step-up infection control measures. (File photo)
Northland has significant community spread of Covid-19, with more than 220 new cases reported each day in the last week.
On Tuesday, there were 247 new cases and 14 people in hospital with the virus – although this includes infected patients on ward 1.
The numbers are a reminder that Covid-19 remains an issue and people should remain vigilant by using public health measures, including wearing masks and washing hands frequently, Te Whatu Ora Te Tai Tokerau said in a social media post on Tuesday.
Hoyle said all Northland hospitals continue to have visiting restrictions in place, including asking people to stay away if they are sick.
The visitor policy at the orange traffic light setting includes patients nominating just two people to visit and those visitors coming at separate times of the day.
Well visitors must wear a surgical or medical mask unless they have an exemption.
Visitors must also keep a physical distance of at least 1m.
