Hospital visiting in the Western Health Trust is being reviewed after a spike in the number of coronavirus-positive patients being admitted.
More than a third of the Covid-19 positive patients in the North of Ireland hospitals are on wards in the trust.
This week 27 elective procedures were cancelled across the trust because of rising admissions.
The Derry City and Strabane District Council area has the highest infection rate in the North.
It is at 372.1 cases per 100,000 people.
The rate for North of Ireland as a whole is 181.2 per 100,000 people.
Between Altnagelvin Area Hospital and the South West Acute Hospital, there are 25 patients being treated for Covid.
Neil Guckian, the Western Health Trust chief executive, said coronavirus transmission in the community has become a concern.
“We are having phone calls from people who’ve been visiting Altnagelvin… and they’ve now tested positive,” he said.
“We need to keep control of this.
“So as of today, we are reviewing our visiting policy.
“We may have to pause that for a short while.”
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 the North of Ireland this weekend.
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