Altnagelvin Hospital full to capacity with Covid patients
The figures, from the six health trusts, are a significant increase from a fortnight ago when its reported that 1,200 staff were isolating across all the trusts.
The Western Trust has 624 staff in isolation, which includes 198 people who can work from home.
As pressure on hospitals continued to mount, the Western Trust confirmed that a small number of “red flag” cancer surgeries had been postponed.
The operations were due to take place on Monday and Tuesday.
It is now hoped they will take place on today, Wednesday, October 21, although the trust said that the situation was “fluid”.
There have been three more Covid-19 related deaths reported by the Department of Health, bringing the total death toll to 624.
There have also been 913 further positive cases, bringing the total number of cases to 28,953.
The Western Trust said that it had activated the “level red” stage of its Covid surge plan and that it was a “very worrying time”, with the number of patients needing admission doubling “every three to four days”.
“If the rate of infection continues locally, we will have some very difficult decisions to make in the coming days around what services we can continue to offer,” it said.
The Western Trust said there are currently 72 patients in the hospital with coronavirus and that it had moved into a “further ward to facilitate increased Covid-19 admissions” on Monday.
The Derry City and Strabane District remains the North of Ireland’s highest infection rate, with 770 cases per 100,000 people, according to the Department of Health.
A local GP has said the Covid centre at Altnagelvin Hospital has been “like a war zone”.
Dr Paul Molloy said the facility was seeing almost as many patients in a day now as it did in a week during the months of March and April.
Dr Molloy said the Covid centre is coping but warned it was vital people adhered to the public health guidance.
More than 20 patients were being treated at the unit on Monday evening, he said.
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