The latest Health New Zealand figures show 50 hospitalisations and 19 deaths with the virus in the past week. In the Southern health district, which covers Otago and Southland, there have been 27 recorded cases, five admissions and one death.
With booster uptake falling and little tracking of Long Covid, experts are warning the real impact of the virus may still be underestimated.
University of Otago professor of public health Michael Baker told RNZ waves of Covid-19 had been a pattern seen since the Omicron variant started spreading widely in 2022.
In the past four years, there had been roughly two waves per year.
Prof Baker said the waves were not seasonal, being equally distributed between winter and summer.
But this wave was not following the pattern of a new subvariant emerging, which suggested a wane in immunity.
Prof Baker said people were not getting booster shots and for many, it had been quite some time since they were last infected and antibodies were dropping.
It was enough to give the virus ‘‘the edge’’.
Prof Baker said the virus was still New Zealand’s most impactful infectious disease — equating to about 1000 deaths a year — compared to influenza, which accounted for about 500.
Covid-19 was also filling up hospitals — and everyone needed to ‘‘act to reduce impact’’, he said.
Prof Baker said there was no data to show if people were still testing, but many had become more complacent.
Tests were no longer paid for by the government, making them unaffordable for some people.
‘‘I think that’s a problem,’’ Prof Baker said.
Apart from getting boosters — which were available every six months for people over 30 — Prof Baker said self-isolation was the next best way to stop the spread.
Covid-19 was being tracked through wastewater and hospitalisations — which were currently showing a ‘‘big wave’’.
In Queenstown, the amount of Covid-19 in wastewater peaked in February to the highest point since July last year.
In Dunedin, Covid-19 in the wastewater climbed to the highest level since September last year before dropping back down in the later half of the month.
As well as topping up antibodies, Prof Baker said getting regular boosters reduced the risk of Long Covid.
The ‘‘disabling illness’’ was not being monitored at all in New Zealand, which Prof Baker said was a ‘‘gap’’ in tracking the virus.
He suggested periodic surveys would be enough to track how many people are living with it.
— RNZ/additional reporting Allied Media
