Decision to exempt NSW health workers from Covid isolation reflects hospitals’ ‘desperate situation’

Doctors say change in policy could put patients at higher risk of catching Covid, but it may be only way of fixing staffing crisis

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Doctors say a decision to exempt health workers in New South Wales from self-isolating if they are close contacts reflects an extremely desperate situation", with warnings the policy change will increase the Covid risk to hospital patients.

NSW Health announced late on Friday night that in exceptional circumstances", frontline workers who are asymptomatic close contacts will be exempt from having to self-isolate for seven days, to avoid disruption to key services.