THE number of COVID cases admitted to Western NSW Local Health District hospitals dropped by about one-fifth in the latest reporting period and there is now one fewer case in ICU.
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It came as Bathurst Regional local government area had 66 new COVID cases detected by PCR in the 24 hours to 8pm on Tuesday, which was consistent with the trend of recent days.
Speaking on ABC Central West on Wednesday, Western NSW Local Health District acting CEO Mark Spittal said there were about 200 staff not at work across the health district - which stretches from Lightning Ridge to Cowra and Cobar to Mudgee - on any given day because they were isolating.
"Around about 40, the mid-40s [COVID cases in the health district's hospitals] is really where you start to lose comfort because of the stress and pressure that's putting on our workforce, many of whom are working extremely hard, double shifts and so on, just to keep things going," he said.
"The big challenge for us, as it is for many other industries, [is that] staff, who of course are members of the community, they can catch COVID or they can have members of their household who catch COVID.
"And at the moment, on any given day, we've got about 200 staff, most of whom are in clinical roles, who can't come to work because of their exposure in their homes."
IN OTHER NEWS AROUND BATHURST:
There were 38 COVID cases admitted to hospitals in the health district in the 24 hours to 8pm on Saturday, two of whom were in ICU; 41 to 8pm on Sunday, three of whom were in ICU; and 39 to 8pm on Monday, three of whom were in ICU.
That number dropped to 31 cases admitted to the health district's hospitals in the latest reporting period, two of whom are in ICU.
Mr Spittal said the health district had contracts in place with the private hospitals in Bathurst and Dubbo.
"What we are tending to do is to actually move our patients, not COVID patients, but patients post-surgery or patients who are waiting for a placement elsewhere in the community, into those private hospitals for ongoing care when it's less clinically intensive," he said.
"And that's working extremely well for us."
He said there were signs this COVID wave in the health district was flattening.
"What we look at is the rolling seven-day average, that's the most important number from our point of view, and the growth rate of that, and we want that to be under one," he said.
"And the last couple of days it's got back to about one and that's the very first time it's happened since early December."
Bathurst Regional had 61 new cases (by PCR) to 8pm on Sunday and 48 to 8pm on Monday before the 66 new cases in the latest update.
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