Murrumbidgee Local Health District says the Deniliquin Hospital is safe and prepared to deal with increasing COVID-19 cases, after the state nurses union said it was in "crisis" mode.
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A local representative of the NSW Nurses and Midwives' Association told the ABC that 10 nurses were no longer working at the hospital due to their vaccination status.
MLHD public health director Tracy Oakman said the hospital was prepared for increasing case numbers in the Edward River council area.
"The hospital is functioning," she said.
"They have used either locum staff or redeployed staff to keep it functioning, so it's a perfectly safe hospital for people to go to.
"We did transfer out some patients in the early days while we furloughed staff and we assessed where the risks were and what our capabilities were, but the hospital is functioning and it is fine."
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Ms Oakman said every hospital within the MLHD was prepared for outbreaks.
"We do know that we're going to have people come in," she said.
"What we do hope is that we're able to identify that they are positive before they have transmission.
"We do have precautions, all our emergency department staff wear full PPE, so those walk-ins who haven't had an opportunity to be tested yet, there's no risk to staff."
Ms Oakman said there were zones within MLHD facilities to separate potential COVID-19 patients from others.
"So there is precautions," she said.
"We do know that we're going to get that so we are worried, but it's something that's going to be everyday life from here on in."
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