COVID hospitalisations in Tasmania have started to decline again but intensive care admissions have reached their highest levels as the Health Department assesses its response to the most deadly wave of the virus yet.
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Nine of the state's 32 ICU beds were being used for COVID-positive patients on Tuesday and three more deaths were reported on Wednesday, but COVID hospitalisations reduced from 129 to 101.
Staff furloughing has also started to decrease, which department secretary Kathrine Morgan-Wicks said would ease some pressure on the workforce.
All four major Tasmanian public hospitals remain at COVID escalation level 3.
The department is preparing workforce modelling, drawing upon staffing issues during the latest Omicron peak to prepare for future waves of COVID, and to allow for accelerated elective surgery and outpatient during pandemic troughs.
Ms Morgan-Wicks said a key issue from the latest wave in Tasmania was the impact on the elderly, which resulted in far more deaths than in the first wave after borders reopened.
"We've seen that as infection has crept into the over-70s ... that is why it is important with these measures to target, for example, the speed to an antiviral for the over-70 at-risk group," she said.
"We anticipate over the next two to three years that Tasmania, in fact the nation, if not globally, will experience rolling waves of COVID-19.
"We have learnt a lot from the last two significant waves."
Improving access to antiviral medication was seen as crucial to preventing COVID hospitalisations and deaths among elderly Tasmanians. Those aged over 70 will be able to be prescribed antivirals preemptively to speed up access if they become COVID-positive.
Antivirals could also be accessed through COVID @ Home.
The cost of the medication will be underwritten for regional and rural community pharmacies to reduce their costs.
The department is also bringing in a statewide virtual primary care service for discharged aged care residents who have limited access to GPs. The virtual service would allow paramedics to leave patients at home once the connection has been made.
Ms Morgan-Wicks said the pressure on hospitals could have passed its peak.
"We're down to 101 cases in our hospitals. That is still, though, a high number that staff are having to deal with, but we anticipate that over the next few weeks that will start to reduce," she said.
"Escalation level 3 is an appropriate level at the moment, and we check that level every single day across our hospital environments."
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