Following a meeting today, the Gold Command of the GHA has decided to raise the St Bernard’s Hospital Operational Risk Status from Yellow to Amber. This step was taken following serious consideration, and taking into account the numbers of COVID positive people in the community and number of COVID positive patients in the hospital.

A statement continued: “The Gold Command has put in place plans to care safely for all COVID patients within CCU and dedicated wards.

“This change is in readiness should the number of positive cases in hospitals rise but is intended to have minimal impact on the community. The only effect will be the cessation of elective surgery that is likely to require post operative admission to the CCU.

“All time sensitive procedures and operations will still continue. Outpatient clinics will carry on as normal.

“The situation is monitored very closely, and the Gold Command of the GHA is poised to respond rapidly to changes in the evolving COVID landscape.”