Covid in the south: 30 people in hospital

by Kim Bowden - Apr 01, 2022

Health officials in the South are reporting 1,243 new cases of Covid-19 today - 191 of them in Queenstown-Lakes and 137 of them in Central Otago.

In the last seven days there have been 8,090 people with the virus in the South who are not yet recovered.

Across the region 30 people are in hospital with Covid-19, one of which is in intensive care.

Twenty of those hospitalised are in Dunedin, where yesterday the Southern District Health Board reported a ward had been shut as a result of an outbreak.

Two people are also now in hospital in Clyde with the virus.

The SDHB says anyone who is eligible should seek to boost their vaccination against the virus.

"If you haven't gone to get your booster vaccination yet, get it now.

"It takes about two weeks after vaccination for the body to build full protection against Covig-19, so the time to act is now."

Only approximately 75 percent of those in the Southern region who can, have been triple vaccinated.

The SDHB is also continuing to remind visitors to the region they need to prepare to self-fund self-isolation if they test positive for Covid-19 during their travels.

"At present the Southern district is managing well with our supported isolation quarantine capacity, but it is a limited resource that is designed to provide members of our community who test positive for Covid-19 a safe place to isolate if they are unable to do so at their normal place of residence.

"It is not a resource for travellers who test positive for Covid-19 while visiting our region and we highly recommend that anyone traveling at this time budget for a possible seven-day isolation period or take out travel insurance that covers Covid-19 infection."

There are supported isolation facilities located throughout the Southern region, and total capacity has not yet been exceeded during this outbreak, it says.

Current hospitalisations as at 8am, April 1, 2022 (SDHB) 

Hospital 

Inpatient 

ICU/HDU 

Ventilated 

Total 

 

 

 

 

 

Dunedin 

19 

20 

Southland 

Dunstan  

Please note that hospitalisation data does not differentiate between patients admitted because of Covid-19 infection versus those admitted for a separate reason who happen to also have Covid-19.  

Current cases as of 11.59pm, March 31, 2022 (Source SDHB) 

Territorial Authority 

New – Positive (PCR & RAT) 

Active Cases 

 

 

 

Central Otago 

137 

510 

Clutha 

60 

420 

Dunedin 

341 

2290 

Gore 

45 

355 

Invercargill 

268 

1949 

Queenstown-Lakes 

191 

1213 

Southland 

132 

877 

Waitaki 

70 

470 

Unknown 

<5 

Please note, the Ministry of Health’s daily reported cases may differ slightly from those reported at a DHB or local public health unit level. This is because of different reporting cut off times and the assignment of cases between regions, for example when a case is tested outside their usual region of residence. Total numbers will always be the formal daily case tally as reported to the WHO. Due to the increased use of RATs and system lag issues there may be a discrepancy in the number of total active cases from the territorial authority breakdown. A decision has been made nationally that areas with less than 5 new cases per 24-hour period will be reported as “<5”. All territorial authorities with less than 100 cases will have their case numbers rounded to the nearest 5. We are unable to supply further information. Please contact the Ministry of Health directly for more information about these decisions.  

Covid-19 in the South - What you need to know:

  • Please only get tested if you have symptoms or are a household contact of a confirmed case.
  • Testing locations can be found on the WellSouth website.
  • If you test positive on a RAT test you do not need to have that confirmed by PCR – you are a case. Please update your My Covid Record with your result. Call 0800 222 478, option 3, if you need any support to do this.
  • If you receive a text notification that you are positive, please do the online survey in the link you receive in the text message as soon as possible. This will ensure you can receive the appropriate care and support when you need it. Please be aware that, after filling in your My Covid Record with your positive RAT result, there can be a 24-hour delay before you receive this text message. 
  • Prepare now to self-isolate if you or a family member or housemate tests positive.
  • If you are self-isolating and require welfare support such as help getting groceries, please call 0800 512 337.
  • If you have concerns about Covid-19 symptoms, call your general practice or Healthline on 0800 358 5453 at any time. If you are very unwell or having breathing difficulties, call 111 immediately.

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