Covid-19: Hospital visitors refusing to wear masks, ward outbreaks 'unavoidable'

Hospital visitors who refuse to wear masks or walk around wards visiting different patients are creating difficulties for Northland hospitals trying to manage Covid-19 infections. Dargaville Hospital’s general ward reopened to visitors on Tuesday, a week after rising infection numbers put a halt to visits. Whangārei Hospital’s ward 1, an orthopaedic ward, has not had any visitors since July 14 because of a spike in Covid-19 infections. It will reopen to visitors on Wednesday, as long as there are no further Covid-19 cases.