Southern medical centres remain under serious pressure as they continue to care for Covid-19 patients in the community.
Primary health organisation WellSouth has been surveying all general practices in Otago and Southland weekly to monitor how they have been managing during the pandemic.
It has a four-colour alert system, and yesterday maintained itself at Level 3, Orange, a setting which reflected a medium impact on how nurses and GPs were coping.
"To no-one’s surprise, we are hearing that practices are very busy and it’s not easing up yet," WellSouth practice network director Paul Rowe said.
"Covid care and acute presentations are the priority and, in some cases, routine care is being postponed if it is not critical."
Yesterday the South was once more the third-highest region in the country in terms of daily case numbers, although the 1368 reported was slightly down on Tuesday’s 1456.
Mr Rowe said practice teams were tired and several were having to also deal with staff either having Covid-19 or having to isolate as household contacts.
Practices had also ramped up use of virtual medicine through videocalls and telehealth.
The alert level system is assessed by surveying all 80 general practices in Otago and Southland, and from 60 to 70 usually respond.
Orange is as high as the South’s alert level has got, and Mr Rowe hoped it would not go any higher.
No practices had had to close their doors.
Dunedin recorded 400 more Covid-19 cases yesterday, Invercargill 337,
Queenstown-Lakes 178 and Southland 144.
Central Otago (102) recorded more than 100 cases in a day for the second time.
Almost 8000 people in Otago and Southland officially have an active case of Covid-19.
Hospitalisations dropped slightly yesterday to 24.
Of those, 13 were in Dunedin Hospital, one of whom was in intensive care, 10 in Southland Hospital and one in Lakes.
Nationally, 12,575 new cases of Covid-19 were reported yesterday, as well as a further 15 deaths over the past four weeks of people who were Covid-positive when they died.
