The South passed two vaccination milestones yesterday, but also recorded its second-highest number of cases of Covid-19 in a day.
Otago and Southland’s first-dose vaccination rate hit 98% yesterday, and booster injections — regarded by health officials as a critical protection against the Omicron variant of Covid-19 — reached 75%.
However, daily case numbers surged by 597, a figure topped only by 867 on February 25.
There are now 6169 active cases across the region, including 4084 in Dunedin and 1095 in Queenstown.
Public health officials believe case numbers in the region have been under-reported since the introduction of rapid antigen tests (Rats), which people can conduct at home. Not every positive result is being reported to the Ministry of Health.
Rats testing is poised to become even more widespread from today, when people who are symptomatic will be able to order the tests through the Ministry of Health website.
People can then collect the test kits from one of 36 locations throughout Otago and Southland.
"This is considerably more than any other district of the country, and more sites and more locations are being added,” WellSouth chief executive Andrew Swanson-Dobbs said.
"More availability of testing in more places can help reduce the spread of the Covid virus and potentially mean the current outbreak is shorter and less severe.”
On Wednesday, the region recorded its first outbreak of cases in a residential aged-care facility after 20 of 26 residents in Bradford Manor rest-home tested positive for Covid-19.
Yesterday, Presbyterian Support Otago confirmed five of its residential aged-care staff had tested positive for Covid-19 in recent days, but none of the residents in the eight facilities it operated. The affected employees worked at Ross Home, Holmdene, St Andrews and Taieri Court, it said.
"As each positive case is identified, we work closely with the DHB and Public Health to carry out further testing at each home," PSO chief executive Jo Rowe said.
"We have strict safety protocols in place, including issuing N95 masks to all our care home staff, and these measures have so far prevented widespread outbreaks at our care homes."
Nationally, a further 23,183 community cases of Covid-19 were reported yesterday.
Of those, 503 people were in hospital, including two people in the Southern District Health Board region.
Some northern hospitals have cut back on surgeries due to staff shortages.
An SDHB spokeswoman said yesterday its hospitals were unaffected by Covid-related staff absences, but plans were ready for such an eventuality.
