Covid-19: 950 new Southern cases, 25 in hospital

There are 950 new cases of Covid-19 in Southland and Otago on Monday, with 25 people in Southern hospitals with the virus.

Nationally, 14,463 new cases have been reported with 1000 in hospital and 33 in ICU.

The Ministry of Health is also reporting nine more Covid-19 related deaths in Auckland, Waikato, Wairarapa and the Bay of Plenty, bringing the national death toll to 184.

Hospitalisations are growing in the south – from 18 on Friday, to 22 on Saturday and 27 on Sunday.

Modelling suggests there could be up to 70 hospitalisations in Southland and Otago a few days after Covid-19 cases peak, but Southern District Health Board chief executive Chris Fleming said earlier in March that this number would put “immense strain and pressure” on the hospital system.

On Friday, quality and clinical governance solutions director Dr Hywel Lloyd – who has been leading the DHB’s Omicron response – urged Southlanders to keep following public health guidelines as not doing so would inevitably lead to more cases and more hospitalisations.

“The health system has historically been under pressure and this is compounding it. It really impacts our ability to deliver normal care,” he said.

On Sunday, the DHB revealed that there had been two Covid-19 exposure events as its facilities in the past week.

A patient admitted to Ward 10A (the Southern DHB’s secure intellectual disability ward at Wakari) on Thursday tested positive and infected two other patients.

A patient transferred from Ward 4C at Dunedin Public Hospital to one of Southern DHB’s Rural Trust Hospital tested positive on Friday while two other inpatients at Ward 4C tested positive on Sunday.

All patients and staff on the fourth floor at Dunedin Hospital, and those who worked on the floor over the past five days underwent PCR testing on Sunday, while RAT tests will be conducted before tests, the DHB said in a statement.