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In response to the continued reduction in Covid hospitalisations from a peak of 750 on 29 December 2022 to 161 on 29 January 2023, the government has de-escalated the Health System Response from Stage 3 to Stage 2 from midnight on 31 January 2023.
Healthcare worker furloughing rates just for Covid have also decreased from a peak of 1676 staff unavailable on 18 December to 724 on 29 January. The most recent wave has now passed but sadly, there is little doubt that a new wave will follow soon. VAHPA has reminded the government that the pressure from Covid is only part of the picture and AHPs are continuing to suffer significant workload pressures across all sectors due to high demand and workforce shortages. Bearing this in mind, health services should not be rushing to return to business as usual at the expense of their staff.
This is the official update on the changed settings:
Changes to the Health System Response
The Health System Response (HSR) will be de-escalated to Stage Two, effective 11:59pm Tuesday 31 January 2023 based on decreasing COVID-19 hospitalisations and a reduction in staff leave associated with Covid 19.
Health services are advised to begin the process of safely transitioning back from Stage Three to Stage Two from 11:59pm Tuesday 31 January.
Please see the links below.