The Southern District Health Board has released a breakdown of Covid-19 cases across the South, with new cases in Queenstown, Gore, Dunedin and Invercargill.
The DHB this afternoon said of the 30 new cases announced today, 22 were in Queenstown, four were in Gore and two each in Invercargill and Dunedin.
The case numbers include cases up to 11.59pm yesterday and there is a total of 72 cases in the DHB area, made up of 56 cases in Queenstown Lakes District, five cases in Dunedin, four in Gore, three in Invercargill and four in the wider Southland district (outside of Gore and Invercargill).
Today's numbers in Gore were at odds with yesterday's. In a statement tonight, a spokeswoman for SDHB said:
"We value openness and transparency and we know that our communities appreciate having local information about Covid-19 cases. Sharing our daily case numbers is important to us, but it is also a new and complex process.
"The time of the day of reporting, the database used, and the recovery of cases can all impact our daily numbers. We are currently working through our systems to ensure that we report from consistent data sets."
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A class at Gore Main School is self-isolating after a pupil tested positive for Covid-19.
The DHB said as of 1pm today there were 450 close contacts isolating throughout the Southern district, of which 332 were in the Queenstown Lakes District. Meanwhile, Gore Preschool has been shut as a precaution after a visitor later tested positive for Covid-19.
However, as an extra layer of protection for patients and staff, a Covid-19 test would be required 48-72 hours prior to surgery. This could be conducted at any community testing centre. Patients will be contacted by their Planned Care Team if they required a swab for their procedure.
The DHB had also put additional safeguards in place at hospitals to protect patients and staff. This includes:
- Visitors are required to wear medical masks and other PPE as required. Visitors with mask exemptions are not able to enter our hospitals.
- Patients in our wards may have a maximum of two registered visitors during their entire admission. Only one of the registered visitors may visit each day. Exceptions may be made in time-sensitive palliative care situations and or when people need interpreters or other equity-related support
- One support person, who has been screened and approved by the relevant area, may attend outpatient appointments and ambulatory care (walk-ins).
- Maternity services: Where there is no suspicion of Covid-19 contact or symptoms for either the patient or support person, one key support person (one partner OR one birthing partner) can accompany patients into the assessment room and birthing suite. Detailed information is available on the Southern Health website.
