REUTERS/Diego Vara/File Photo
- A New Zealand hospital patient said a visitor had sex with a patient in his ward, 1 News reported.
- The report comes amidst public health professionals voicing concern on visitation during COVID-19.
- Auckland is on a Level 4 COVID-19 alert due to the spread of the Delta variant.
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A former patient at an Auckland, New Zealand, hospital filed a formal complaint after he said a visitor had sex with a patient in his ward last week, 1 News reported.
The former patient, who was only identified as "Kevin," said he saw a young woman go behind a curtain and "it was pretty obvious what was happening in there."
"There was four people in the ward and it was all just a bit staggering, all very embarrassing," he told the outlet.
Kevin said he told hospital staff, who quickly intervened.
"There was a view that, 'Hey, don't be a spoilsport,' but it was the wider COVID question that I was raising, and in fact, I made a complaint to the staff on that," he told the outlet.
Radio New Zealand reported that The New Zealand Nurses Organisation has called it "absurd" that the Auckland District Health Board has had relaxed visitation.
The NZNO was concerned that hundreds of visitors - including large groups of people and people refusing to wear masks - have been allowed to visit patients despite the Delta variant putting the region on the highest COVID-19 alert level.
"We cannot afford to have people unwittingly bringing COVID into the system, threatening the patients who are vulnerable," Kate Weston, the acting nursing and professional services manager, told RNZ.
As of Saturday, the country reported 24 new cases in the past day with 599 overall active cases, according to government data.
New Zealand recorded its first death from the Delta variant last week in Auckland, Reuters reported. Since the start of the pandemic, the country has had a total of 27 COVID-19 deaths.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern couldn't help but look shocked, confused, and slightly squeamish when a reporter asked her if the alleged sexual incident was "high-risk" during COVID-19.
-Aaron Dahmen (@dahmenaaron) September 9, 2021
"I would say, generally, regardless of the COVID-19 status, that kind of thing shouldn't generally be part of visiting hours, I would have thought," Arden said.
RNZ reported that the Auckland District Health Board had tightened visitor rules on Friday, allowing only one visitor per patient.