Hospitals Deal With Staff Shortages As Tasmania Records 751 New Cases

Tasmania has recorded 751 new Covid cases overnight bringing the total number of active cases to 3,534.

There are currently five people in hospital with the virus, only one of whom is being treated for Covid.

The remaining four are being treated for prior health conditions.

The new numbers come from 2,958 tests returned yesterday.

Stay up-to-date on the latest news with The National Briefing - keeping you in the loop with the nation’s breaking news as it hits.

While the number of new Covid cases is already high, health experts believe that the real number of cases is likely much higher.

According to Health Director Mark Veitch, there are likely 3000 undiagnosed cases out there who are yet to be detected due to issues with PCR testing.

"It could be as many as twice as many people as we're actually diagnosing do actually have the infection," he said.

Long line ups at PCR testing clinics continue to cause delays with some people lining up for hours to be tested.

Traffic controllers were forced to begin turning people away at the Kingston testing site yesterday before the clinic had opened.

Many people are now dodging being tested due to the unavoidable delays.

While testing clinics struggle to deal with the high demand for PCR tests, hospitals and other health care services are losing staff as more health workers test positive for Covid.

Over 50 staff across Hobart’s main three public hospitals have tested positive for the virus creating staff shortages as case numbers state-wide continue to rise.

Stay up-to-date on the latest news with Your Morning Agenda - supported by a network of local journalists from all major Australian cities, ensuing timely and first hand insights on local stories:

Download LiSTNR and enjoy a new world of audio. All your favourite shows and stations in one library.