Visiting hours have been reduced at Canterbury hospitals to free up staff space for physical distancing

Before Level 2 public visiting was from 11am to 1pm and from 3pm to 8pm for most areas of Christchurch Hospital.

Incident controller Dr Sue Nightingale says the new visiting hours for Alert Level 2 are between 3pm and 9pm until further notice.

She says the new hours will give staff room to observe physical distancing when not providing direct patient care.

Burwood Hospital and Christchurch Women's Hospital have different visiting hours.