An AMA team to deliver services to the North-West

UPDATED: A cohort of medics from the Australian Medical Assistance Team will fly into Tasmania to deliver health services to the North-West as hospital staff are placed in quarantine.

AN Australian Medical Assistance Team will fly into Tasmania to help deliver health services on the North-West coast as about 5000 residents — including hospital staff and their families — are placed in quarantine.

The North West Regional Hospital is the epicentre of coronavirus infection in Tasmania and it, and the nearby private hospital, were closed yesterday morning as part of the State Government’s plan to quash the outbreak.

AUSMAT teams usually work in disaster zones, but the Federal Government answered Tasmania’s call for help to control the emergency situation.

The teams are made up of doctors, nurses, paramedics, fire fighters to work as logistic co-ordinators, and allied health staff.

Health Minister Sarah Courtney says expert cleaners have been engaged to deep clean the NWRH. Picture: ZAK SIMMONDS

All 1200 or so staff from the NWRH and the private hospital have been stood down, and they and their families have been instructed to quarantine for 14 days.

Six more coronavius cases were confirmed in Tasmania last night. All were from the North-West, bringing the state’s total to 150.

Of those statewide cases, 66 are linked to the hospital outbreak — 45 workers, nine patients and 12 contacts of those people.

The transfer of 23 patients from the North West Regional Hospital to the Mersey Community Hospital at Latrobe also has begun.

The Latrobe hospital has been reconfigured to keep COVID-19 positive patients separated, and there is an infectious diseases experts on site.

Health Minister Sarah Courtney said she hoped the NWRH’s Emergency Department would re-open in 72 hours.

Expert cleaners have been engaged to carry out the deep clean.

“Once the department is cleaned we can get it back up and running. We will deploy clean Australian Defence Force and AUSMAT staff to allow Emergency Department presentations to be seen, hopefully in 72 hours,” Ms Courtney said.

Testing will be ramped up across the North-West, and a drive-through testing clinic has been established at the Parkside Community Mental Health Centre in South Burnie. Another at the East Devonport Recreation Centre will be up and running this week.

North West Regional Hospital at Burnie, which been closed for a deep clean due to a coronavirus outbreak. Picture: HELEN KEMPTON

Director of Pubic Health Mark Veitch said he would like to see 200-300 tests conducted in the region each day.

Premier Peter Gutwein said other hospitals in Australia had been impacted by coronavirus outbreaks.

He said work was underway to find out how the outbreak at the NWRH occurred, and to ensure it did not happen in Launceston and Hobart.

“While it may appear extreme to close hospitals, this will enable us to get on top of it,” Mr Gutwein said.

“Tracing will determine where the epicentre of the outbreak, is and I expect to know more next week.”

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Education Minister Jeremy Rockliff said that, over the next two weeks, Early Childhood Education and Care centres in the North-West could elect to only accept children where both parents had to leave the home to perform essential work duties.

“If you are at home and can look after your own children, then you should,” Mr Rockliff said.

“It is very important that everyone in the North-West only leaves their primary residence when they absolutely need to, and only use early childhood care or family day care if they have a genuine need for care due to work commitments.”

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