Only reason to visit hospitals revealed as SA records 995 new Covid-19 cases

New rules for some of Adelaide’s public hospitals have been announced as South Australia recorded 995 new Covid-19 cases on Tuesday.

South Australia has recorded 995 new Covid-19 infections on Tuesday as major Adelaide public hospitals announced visitors wouldn’t be allowed to enter unless they were seeing dying relatives.

Of the 20,053 tests conducted in the past 24 hours, 81 per cent are the Omicron variant.

The new cases, which include 84 children and 66 teenagers, bring the total number of active cases to 4889.

Three young children and three others aged between 10 and 19 are among the 36 people hospitalised.

It also includes two people in their 20s, five in their 30s, two in their 40s, six in their 50s, six in their 60s, four in their 70s, one in their 80s, and four in their 90s.

There are five people in intensive care, including one on a ventilator.

The state’s vaccination rate has slightly increased to 87.5 per cent double dosed, while 92.2 per cent have had at least one jab.

South Australia has recorded 995 new Covid-19 cases. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Brenton Edwards

It comes as SA Health’s Central Adelaide Local Health Network took to social media on Monday night to announce the changes that come into effective from Tuesday.

Under the new rules, visitors will only be allowed on site for “compassionate reasons” at its facilities like the Royal Adelaide Hospital, the Queen Elizabeth Hospital and the Hampstead Rehabilitation Centre.

This includes emergencies, end-of-life visits and parents of young children who need treatment.

“We’ve made the difficult but necessary decision to restrict visitors coming to our health facilities due to increasing Covid transmission rates,” the post read.

“While difficult, it is absolutely essential that we keep Covid out of our facilities for the safety of our staff and vulnerable patients.

“Thank you for your understanding and for helping us to keep your loved ones, our patients, staff and the community safe.”

Visitors will only be allowed at Royal Adelaide Hospital for ‘compassionate reasons’. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Brenton Edwards