District health board to pare back its Covid communication

The Southern District Health Board is set to pare back its updates on local Covid-19 cases numbers and hospitalisations.

During the latest Omicron community outbreak, the district health board has been providing daily updates but from Monday these will become twice-weekly communications.

Updates will be provided on a Tuesday and a Friday, or if the situation demands it, the SDHB says in a statement.

The announcement comes as the number of new daily cases across the region shows signs of slowing.

In its daily update today, the health board has reported 654 new cases of Covid-19 in the southern community.

It brings the number of active cases in the region in the last seven days to 5,334.

Forty-nine of the new cases are in Central Otago, and 91 in Queenstown Lakes.

There are 30 people in hospital with the virus in the region - 17 of them in Dunedin, 11 in Invercargill, and one each in Clyde and Queenstown.

Two of those in hospital are in intensive care.

Current hospitalisations as at 8am, May 9, 2022 (Source SDHB) 

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. Hospital numbers reported by the Southern DHB include those in mental health wards.   

Current cases as of 11.59pm, May 8, 2022 (Source SDHB) 

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.