A Covid outbreak in Southland Hospital has spread to a second ward.
On Tuesday, Te Whatu Ora Southern banned visitors from the hospital’s assessment, treatment and rehabilitation ward following several exposure events to both Covid and to influenza.
Yesterday, it revealed more patients in the hospital had been exposed to Covid, this time in its surgical ward.
As Te Whatu Ora Southern has done during all previous Covid outbreaks, at both Dunedin and Southland Hospitals, the ward was immediately closed to all visitors except those permitted on compassionate grounds.
Visitors are still welcome to other Southland Hospital wards, but numbers and times are restricted and people must wear a surgical mask at all times.
The number of people in hospital who have Covid has usually risen sharply after an outbreak in a hospital ward, but yesterday it remained steady at 36.
The Ministry of Health yesterday announced the deaths of 26 people who had Covid, three of whom were in the southern region.
A further 527 community cases of Covid were reported in Otago and Southland yesterday, from a national total of 6440 new cases.
