Whangarei Hospital has been hit by Norovirus, once again.
An outbreak of gastroenteritis, saw Ward 15 closed down for the second time in two weeks.

With three patients isolated, people with symptoms like vomiting, diarrhoea and stomach pains have also been asked by the staff not to visit, or to call ahead for advice if they need to visit.

Gloria Johnson, Chief Medical Advisor said the closure of the ward following an earlier norovirus outbreak that began on 28th July 28 and declared over on Friday, was extremely frustrating.

The new outbreak amongst ward patients means, the ward had only been symptom free for seventy two hours.

Ward 15 has again been closed to new medical admissions and visitors have been restricted to two adult visitors per patient, each visit.

Children are not permitted to visit, with visitors required to wear protective clothing, including engaging in hand hygiene precautions.

Strict infection control measures have been taken for reducing the risk for other patients within the hospital.

Norovirus symptoms like vomiting, diarrhoea and stomach pains, can affect the elderly and the very young, seriously.