It's hoped the emergency department at the North West Regional Hospital will be reopened tomorrow, Health Minister Sarah Courtney says.
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The Australian Defence Force and an Australian Medical Assistance Team were deployed to Burnie on Monday, as an unprecedented deep clean of the NWRH is conducted.
The additional personnel will work to keep the emergency department operating as staff from the hospital - and the adjoining North West Private Hospital - undergo a mandatory 14-day quarantine period along with others in their households, in the wake of a coronavirus outbreak that has gripped the region.
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"With regards to the emergency department at the North West Regional, work is continuing today on the recommissioning of that hospital and we're continuing today with the deep clean of the North West Regional site," Ms Courtney said. "We're anticipating a resumption of services tomorrow."
"We need to ensure that when we open it, it is safe for our teams going in there as well as our patients."
The minister said the reason the clean was taking longer than originally anticipated was due to the need to sufficiently train cleaning staff prior to carrying out the job.
"I want to make sure that those cleaners have got the right training to keep them safe and make sure they have got the confidence to be able to conduct this clean," she said.
"We are very ambitious about our timelines; however, we need to balance that with the safety of our workers."
Colonel David Hughes said the clean would "unfortunately take as long as it takes".
Coronavirus: All the latest updates on COVID-19 for Tasmania
Meanwhile, Ms Courtney denied reports that the director of the NWRH's emergency department had been stood down for speaking out about the issues plaguing the hospital. She also said she could not comment on whether that person had been disciplined or told not to talk to the media.
"My advice is that no-one has been stood down," she said. "I understand there are some concerns that have been raised with me."
"I have asked the secretary of the department, the Chief Medical Officer, to engage. I know that that engagement has begun."
"I thank all our staff members - I do know how passionate they are and I do know how much they care."
According to Public Health director Mark Veitch, there have been a total of 97 cases of coronavirus recorded in the North-West to date, 85 of which are linked to the current outbreak.
There have been 56 health care workers infected as a result of the North-West outbreak.
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