The Canterbury District Health Board has loosened restrictions on visitors to some of its facilities.
The new Acute Services Building at Christchurch Hospital. Photo: RNZ / Katie Todd
The health board said patients in most in-patient wards at Christchurch Hospital can now have one nominated visitor from their bubble.
That person becomes the nominated visitor for the duration of the patient's care, and can visit just once a day.
Women giving birth can also now have one support person if having an elective caesarean, and two support people for the duration of a labour and birth.
During a woman's postnatal stay they can have one named support person from the same bubble who can visit once per day for any length of time between 10am and 8pm.
There are still no visitors allowed at most areas of Burwood Hospital or other facilities which provide services for elderly or those in high risk areas where there are vulnerable patients, or patients are in isolation.
The board said exceptions may be made on compassionate grounds on a case-by-case basis for end of life care for patients who are not Covid-19 positive.
Those in the Spinal Unit at Burwood can have one nominated visitor.
Details of every visitor will be recorded upon arrival, and the board said this was to ensure that once nominated, only that person visits from then on and to allow rapid contact tracing if anyone they have been in contact with is later confirmed as having Covid-19.
"Practicing safe physical distancing, good hand hygiene and covering coughs or sneezes are all still vitally important," said Canterbury DHB Emergency Coordination Centre Incident Controller, Dr Sue Nightingale.
"Under alert level 3, for most inpatient ward areas one person per patient can visit or support a member of your whānau who is unwell, as long as you follow the rules which have been put in place to protect you and others. Some higher risk areas do not allow visiting at alert level 3, and we are still asking people not to visit the hospital or health centre if they don't need to," said Dr Nightingale.
The CDHB said this guidance will be effective for all Canterbury DHB facilities from Thursday 30 April.