Patients will be triaged in tent

Middlemore Hospital is planning to set up a tent to triage Covid patients as early as next week, as Auckland braces for a surge in cases. Daily cases numbers in the city are expected to double within a fortnight, hitting three figures. Middlemore Hospital’s emergency department and ICU clinical director Vanessa Thornton said the hospital was preparing for an increase in cases, including a tent at the emergency department to triage Covid patients ‘‘We’re monitoring on a dayby-day basis but we’re planning for that tent to be up and going next week, based on the predictions.’’ And a second Covid ward was ready to go if needed. The existing one had 17 beds and there were 11 patients in it yesterday, she said. Extra nurses from other parts of the hospital would be called on if needed, she said.