Coronavirus: Tasmanian cluster fears as hospital ward staffer tests positive

Ten Launceston General Hospital staff are being tested after a colleague has been confirmed as having the coronavirus.

Launceston General Hospital, where a staff member has tested positive to COVID-19.

There are fears of another hospital outbreak of COVID-19 in Tasmania, with 10 Launceston General Hospital staff being tested after a colleague was confirmed as having the virus.

Health authorities said the staff member, who was working in the hospital’s COVID ward, tested positive late on Tuesday and 10 colleagues who had worked with them had been or would be tested.

The staff member with the virus, aged in their 40s, had not worked for almost a fortnight because they had been unwell.

“The infection of the healthcare worker will be thoroughly investigated,” said acting public health director Scott McKeown.

“The likely source (of infection) is as a result of their work in ­providing care to someone on the ward, but we do need to ­assess all possible sources of ­infection.

“Ten staff members have been identified (as close contacts and) … won’t return to work until they have been tested.”

This follows a major COVID-19 outbreak in two Burnie hospitals last month, which claimed 12 lives and forced the closure of the facilities for weeks.

However, Dr McKeown said authorities were “very reassured that the person hasn’t worked while they were sick”.

“It was only a very short period of time before the onset of their symptoms, when they would have been infectious, (that) … they worked,” he said.

Health Minister Sarah Courtney also sought to allay fears of another hospital outbreak. “It’s important to note that this healthcare worker has not been at work for almost a fortnight because they had been unwell,” she said.

“Testing is ongoing with regard to close contacts in the staff cohort at that hospital. However, this is a timely reminder that this is a highly infectious disease … Tasman­ians need to be vigilant.”

Tasmania recorded two further cases of the virus overnight on Tuesday, taking its total to 223, as of Wednesday morning. Of these, 42 are active cases.

Most of the cases have been in the state’s northwest and largely relate to an outbreak at the North West Regional Hospital, linked to two Ruby Princess cruise ship passengers.

Late on Wednesday, the state government released long-­promised data providing a breakdown of cases according to local government area. This confirms the concentration of cases in the northwest (148), compared with 44 in the south and 28 in the north, with three cases among interstate visitors.

The three municipal areas with the largest number of cases are all in the northwest: Burnie 63, ­central coast 35 and Waratah-Wynyard 23.

Meanwhile, Premier Peter Gutwein said he was seeking public health advice about an AFL proposal to hold fly-in, fly-out football games in the state as part of the latest plans to restart the AFL season.