No new admissions as staff outbreak investigated

UPDATED: Premier Peter Gutwein says he will consider locking down certain areas of Tasmania if required.

PREMIER Peter Gutwein says he will consider locking down certain areas of the state if needed as the North-West cements itself as Tasmania’s coronavirus transmission hotspot.

Burnie’s North West Regional Hospital will not take any new admissions to its medical or surgical wards as investigations into how three health care workers became infected with COVID-19 continue.

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Authorities are also working to determine if the infection of a nurse working at Latrobe’s Mersey Community Hospital and another person in the Devonport area were through community transmission.

“I will consider locking down one area of the state if needed,” Mr Gutwein said.

The outbreak investigation at the NWRH began on Friday night to try to pinpoint which hospital patients and other staff members might be impacted.

At least 18 health care workers connected with the three infected hospital staff are now in quarantine.

Two workers at the hospital returned positive tests on Friday. Another, a female health are worker in her 20s was found to be infected on Saturday.

Greens Health spokesperson Rosalie Woodruff said the case raised the prospect of future regional movement restrictions.

Rosalie Woodruff. Picture: LUKE BOWDEN

“Should that occur, it is more essential than ever that proper access to local health services is maintained,” she said.

“There are clearly serious capacity constraints on public health facility infrastructure and staffing in the North-West. Health Minister Sarah Courtney must reassure residents the government will prioritise all necessary resources to keep essential medical and surgical hospital services in this region.”

Director of Public Health Dr Mark Veitch said all three workers had spent time in one setting at the hospital.

Cancer Centre of the North West Regional Hospital at Burnie

“Eighteen staff identified as being in the close circle of the first two cases are in quarantine but there will be more identified,” Dr Veitch said.

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He said patients at potential risk were being identified. However, the source of the infection may have come from outside the hospital, authorities said.

“Any staff member at the hospital suffering symptoms has been asked to absent themselves from work and be tested,” Dr Veitch said.

Chief Medical Officer Tony Lawler said no new patients would be admitted to the hospital.

Negotiations are underway with the adjoining North West Private Hospital to see if patients can be treated there. Hospital directors are also looking to see if the NWRH can be configured to take patients.

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There is some capacity at the Mersey Community Hospital at Latrobe and Ambulance Tasmania has been asked to take new emergency presentations which would normally go to Burnie through to the Launceston General Hospital.

Patients already in beds at the NWRH will not be moved.

Ms Woodruff said rather than negotiating with individual hospitals about whether or not they can help, the Government needed to urgently act to ensure the full capacity of the private hospital system was available to be deployed as necessary at the instruction of the Director of Public Health.