Hospitals Revaluate Services As State Records 1,406 New Covid Cases

Tasmania has recorded 1,406 new Covid cases overnight as hospitals review services due to staff shortages.

At least 808 of the latest cases were self-reported rapid antigen test positive cases.

There are currently 15 people hospitalised with the virus with four of these people being treated for Covid symptoms.

This brings the total number of active cases to 7,473.

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Despite numbers dropping significantly from yesterday’s 2,223 recorded Covid cases, health officials believe numbers will once again skyrocket.

As numbers continue to fluctuate, health officials are preparing to vaccinate thousands of children between the ages of five and 11-years-old.

With an eight week wait between the first and second dose of the vaccine, parents across the country are hesitant to send their children back to school with only one vaccination.

Tasmanian hospitals are revaluating their services as hundreds of health staff are pushed into isolation by the virus.

Both the Royal Hobart Hospital and Launceston General Hospital are reviewing their services with elective surgeries on the backburner.

There are currently 200 staff in isolation after contracting the virus or as close contacts with some staff receiving isolation exemptions to handle the influx of patients.

This allows senior health staff to ask employees who have been considered close contacts to return to work after a risk assessment.

These employees will be required to undergo daily rapid antigen testing.

The workers union is pushing back against this decision as staff fear they will be called back to work if they receive a negative test result, ultimately putting other staff and patients at risk.

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