Two people are now allowed in hospital wards, Health Minister Yvette D’Ath announced on Tuesday, to limit the COVID spread.
New restrictions have been announced for visitors to Queensland hospitals, as emergency departments buckle under a flood of patients.
Health Minister Yvette D’Ath said Queensland Health would reduce the number of visitors to hospitals, short of a total ban.In emergency departments, each patient would be allowed just one visitor, and there would be exceptions for palliative care and end-of-life situations. “We really need to reduce the number of people coming into our emergency departments and moving around our wards,” she said.Ms D’Ath said outside some emergency departments, a triage system had been set up under tents as a safe area for patients to wait to avoid congestion inside hospitals.
“Every single person walking into an emergency department ... could end up showing up positive while they’re in the hospital system, no matter what ward they’re in,” she said.