In the April to June quarter of this year there were 231 new bundles of joy at the hospital, down from 258 in the corresponding period last year, according to figures released by the Bureau of Health Information. The 27 fewer bubs represents a drop of 10.5 percent.

The dip can't be blamed on the Covid-19 pandemic, given that the babies were made around the July to September period in 2019, before the virus was known to have starred spreading.

The figures also showed a steep drop in elective surgery numbers at Orange Health Service, from 859 in the April-June 2019 quarter down to 608 in the same months of 2020, a drop of nearly 30 percent. The Covid-19 pandemic was responsible for this, as on March 25 this year NSW public hospitals suspended all non-urgent elective surgery to ensure adequate hospital capacity to respond to the virus.

On April 21 the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee recommended elective surgery could incrementally recommence from April 27 without increasing the risks of the pandemic, while ensuring the hospital system maintained the capacity to respond to an outbreak if required.

NSW public hospitals have been returning to normal surgery activity since July 1.

The suspension of elective surgery led to a blowout in the number of people on waiting lists at Orange Health Service, up nearly 10 percent from 1,655 in April-June 2019 to 1,811 in April-June 2020.

The sharpest rise on the waiting list was in the "semi-urgent" category (e.g., colposcopy, amputation of digit), which skyrocketed 60%, from 199 in the second quarter of 2019 to 317 in the second quarter of 2020.

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