WARD visits have been paused at a west Wales hospital following a spike in Covid-19 cases.

Hywel Dda University Health Board says measures have been reintroduced at Withybush Hospital in Haverfordwest due to an ‘increasing prevalence of Covid-19’.

The measures, which came into force on Monday evening, include:

• All staff and visitors to Withybush Hospital to wear face masks (unless exempt) on the hospital site.

• Visiting to inpatients/wards to be paused from Tuesday 5 July, except for end-of-life visits and any visits considered necessary through agreement with the ward sister/charge nurse.

• People attending an outpatient appointment to attend alone unless they require the support of a carer/relative.

• Testing of all patients prior to admission

Mandy Rayani, Director of Nursing, Quality and Patient Experience, said: “We have made the decision to reinforce these measures at Withybush Hospital to reduce the risk to our patients and staff and thank people for their support and co-operation at this time.

“While the situation at Withybush Hospital and across our other hospital sites will be reviewed and updated frequently, we can all continue to take protective measures to reduce the risk of transmission of Covid-19 to protect vulnerable people and the NHS.

“We strongly advise anyone in our locality who has the classic symptoms of COVID-19, or who suspects they may have Covid-19 to isolate and take an LFD test. If positive, we urge people to isolate – this will help you to rest and recover while protecting others from the risk of transmission.”

Members of the public with COVID-19 symptoms can still order an LFD test in Wales for free, until 31 July, by visiting www.gov.uk (opens in new tab) and searching ‘order rapid lateral flow kit’. If you, or someone you care for is not online you can telephone 119 between the hours of 7am and 11pm (people with hearing or speech difficulties can call 18001 119).

The restrictions are currently only in force at Withybush in Haverfordwest.