Taranaki Hospital wards slashed following surge in Covid cases

Only five people with Covid-19 are hospitalized in Taranaki despite a new case record announced on Wednesday.

There are 536 new cases announced, the second day in a row the figure was over 500 with the number of active cases in the region now standing at 2,940.

Of the new cases, 372 are in the north of the region, 31 in the center, 129 in south Taranaki and four remain to be determined.

This number of active cases compared to those hospitalized is equivalent to 0.17%.

Despite this extremely low figure, the Taranaki District Health Board (TDHB) announced a reduction in services in the area until the peak of cases.

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The regional health authority has warned patients they risk experiencing disruptions and delays to scheduled surgery and outpatient and community services. However, there will be no interruption of emergency care.

Affected patients will be contacted directly by the TDHB administrative team.

Telephone assessments are expected to become standard practice in the coming weeks as in-person appointments are cancelled.

“Given the increasing demand this will place on hospital resources and the expected reduction in staff, it will be important that we ensure that resources are focused on continuing to provide essential services,” said the director of the acting operating, Kate Sheffield, in an emailed statement.

Visitors under the age of 12 are prohibited unless they have a prior appointment, patients are allowed a support person and a designated visitor, while other restrictions to high-risk areas for patients could be re-examined.

Nationwide, the isolation period for Covid-19 cases and their household contacts will be reduced from 10 days to seven days from midnight Friday.

The Department of Health today announced that there were 22,454 community cases and four deaths while 742 people were in hospital, including 19 in intensive care.