North-West coronavirus restrictions working, says Premier

Tasmanians must remain “vigilant” and “disciplined” in order to prevent a further coronavirus outbreak, the Premier says.

TOUGH measures to contain the spread of coronavirus on Tasmania’s North-West Coast appear to be working, Premier Peter Gutwein says.

But he has warned against complacency, saying a further outbreak was possible if people failed to follow the rules.

Last week, the State Government took drastic action to contain the spread of COVID-19 in the region, which saw many businesses close and thousands of residents placed in lockdown.

It also saw the North West Regional Hospital and North West Private Hospital closed to undergo intensive cleaning with patients transferred to the Mersey Community Hospital.

The NWRH emergency department reopened on Friday.

ADF AND AUSMAT TEAMS ARRIVE TO REOPEN UNSTAFFED NWRH

AMA TEAM TO DELIVER HEALTH SERVICES TO THE NORTH-WEST

FEDERAL MEDICS AIM TO RESTORE NORMAL SERVICE

The Burnie outbreak now accounts for more than half of the state’s total cases.

The North West Regional Hospital was closed last week to help stop the spread of the coronavirus outbreak in the region. Picture: AAP

Mr Gutwein said Tasmania’s coronavirus situation was a contrast between the North-West and the North and South, which have experienced minimal recent cases.

The Premier said quarantining thousands of people, closing two hospitals, increasing testing and ramping up contact tracing in the North-West appeared to have been effective in slowing the spread.

But he said the region’s communities must remain “vigilant” and “disciplined”.

Mr Gutwein confirmed North-West residents needing to be in quarantine were being bussed to Launceston hotels due to government-run accommodation capacity issues in the region.

Premier Peter Gutwein during the Government’s daily COVID-19 update on Sunday. Picture: ZAK SIMMONDS

Burnie-based Senator Jacqui Lambie said people in the North-West were nervously waiting to see if the virus would continue to spread.

“We are holding our breath at the moment because we are just waiting to see what will come out of aged care in the next 48 to 72 hours,” she said.

“It’s very, very quiet out there, I’ve not been in the car, I’ve only been walking which gets me out a bit on the highway and it’s very slow traffic out there.”

Mr Gutwein said the outbreak experienced in the North-West could happen elsewhere if communities became complacent and did not obey stay-home directives.

“In respect of the south and north especially, I do want to send a very strong message, this is not the time to take your foot off the pedal,” he said.

“Now is not the time to relax or become complacent. We need to do everything that we can and the best way that we can ensure we crush this disease is to follow the rules and I would encourage everybody to do that.”

Royal Australian Air Force medical technician Corporal Megan Macauslan, right, in the North West Regional Hospital after the hospital’s formal handover. Picture: Department of Defence

Health Minister Sarah Courtney said there were 309 presentations at COVID-19 testing clinics across the state on Saturday, with about 260 in the North-West.

Ms Courtney said this was in addition to the 500 tests linked to the aged care homes, and she thanked staff at the Royal Hobart Hospital’s laboratory for the “enormous amount” of work they have been doing in recent weeks.

Ms Courtney said 69 people had recovered from the virus and been released from quarantine.

Labor leader Rebecca White renewed the party’s calls for a significant increase in testing for coronavirus to get on top of the outbreak in the North-West.

Ms White said at a time when the state’s death rate from the virus was the highest in the country, it did not make sense not to use the full testing capacity available.