Coronavirus: Hospital visiting at two Derry hospitals paused

Visiting at two hospitals in Londonderry has been paused after a spike in the number of coronavirus-positive patients being admitted in the Western Health Trust area.

More than a third of the Covid-19 positive patients in Northern Ireland hospitals are on wards in the trust.

This week 27 elective procedures were cancelled across the trust because of rising admissions.

Visiting has been paused at Altnagelvin Area and Waterside hospitals in Derry.

The Derry City and Strabane District Council area has the highest infection rate in Northern Ireland.

It is at 372.1 cases per 100,000 people.

The rate for Northern Ireland as a whole is 181.2 per 100,000 people.

Between Altnagelvin Area Hospital and the South West Acute Hospital in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, there are 25 patients being treated for Covid.

At Craigavon Area Hospital in the Southern Health Trust, the next busiest hospital, there are fewer than half that number (11).

This pause on visiting arrangements at the two hospitals in Derry will be implemented from midnight on Friday for a one-week period initially and "will be subject to daily monitoring and review", said the trust.

Neil Guckian, the Western Health Trust chief executive, said there had been "a significant recent spike in Covid-19 transmissions and this is particularly prevalent in the north-west".

"Additionally, in recent days we have experienced a number of visitors to our Altnagelvin Hospital who have since confirmed through track and trace that they are Covid-19 positive," he said.

"This rise in transmission and admissions is also coming at a time when the trust continues to deal with the additional pressures faced in our emergency departments."

Mr Guckian said he understood the pause to visiting would be "very disappointing" for people but added: "The safety of our patients and staff will always be our first priority."

The trust said visiting to Altnagelvin Area and Waterside hospitals in "exceptional circumstances such as end-of-life care" would be possible and "each instance will be subject to... risk assessment".

"At this stage there will be no change to visiting arrangements in our Fermanagh and Omagh hospitals," it added.

Hospital visiting across Northern Ireland is on a phased return, with pre-pandemic arrangements not yet in place.

For the second day in a row, new confirmed cases of coronavirus topped 600, according to the Department of Health.

The rising number of infections is being driven by the highly transmissible Delta variant, which now accounts for more than 80% of all cases in Northern Ireland.

The highest increases have been recorded in the under-40s age group, in which vaccine uptake is about 53%.

In a bid to reduce transmission and hospitalisations, a number of mobile units and pop-up clinics will offer vaccinations across Northern Ireland this weekend.