"Infection control during my partner's admission"

I brought my partner to the ED in Armadale because they had numbness and weakness in their lower extremities. From being seen at the reception to being admitted was smooth as there weren't many people at the time (past midnight) compared to other hospital ED's. The doctors and nurses were nice and caring. However, a patient next to my partner's bed who was coughing profusely was admitted for chest pains, and we overheard they tested strong positive after being wheeled in beside us for 15 minutes. There wasn't much separation between beds, only a thin curtain, and we heard the staff had to do a thorough clean as soon as they found out and moved the patient to a separate room. After we came home, we tested negative that day, but my partner tested positive the next day and me a few days later. A month after that I had to be admitted to the ED via ambulance because of severe chest pains that had continued at random times for 8 months despite being relatively healthy before this. This has disrupted my life to a large extent.

What is being done to prevent patients from transmitting COVID to each other right now? I believe PPE should be adopted especially in areas where patients are the sickest. I am anxious if I ever have to seek emergency help again in case I go in with one sickness and come out sicker. I hope that the department takes infection control seriously ,especially in the light of the chronic phase of COVID infection (long COVID) which I believe is affecting everyone regardless of comorbidities, background.