Dunedin Hospital’s 8Med ward has been closed by a Covid-19 infection for the second time in a fortnight.
The ward was closed to visitors yesterday after staff and patients reported Covid-19 and influenza exposure events, a Southern District Health Board spokeswoman said.
The rest of the hospital, which closed to all visitors for several days on June 3 after the disease was detected in several wards, remained open at this stage.
The closure came on the same day that southern Covid-19 hospital admissions fell to 16, down from 29 on Saturday.
Dunedin’s dedicated ward for Covid-19 cases surged to capacity soon after the first outbreak in the hospital, so staff were taking all necessary steps to ensure the exposure events were contained, the spokeswoman said.
‘‘This includes closely monitoring patients for signs and symptoms of Covid-19 and influenza.’’
There were 442 new Covid-19 cases reported in the South yesterday, from a national total of 5554.
The Ministry of Health reported 11 new deaths of people who had the disease, two of which were in the South.
There were 3239 active cases of Covid-19 in Otago and Southland yesterday.
Of those, 1289 were in Dunedin, 468 in Invercargill and 465 in Queenstown-Lakes.
Waitaki had 273 active cases, Central Otago 216 and 203 in Southland.
Active cases were continuing to increase in Gore, up to 192 yesterday from 149 a week ago.
