Te Whatu Ora Southern COVID-19 Update  15 July 2022 

Key Messages  

• You can be infected with COVID-19 more than once. Many people throughout Southern and Aotearoa are now discovering this. Please be vigilant when out in the community and wear a mask, practise good hand hygiene and physical distancing where appropriate.   
• It is not too late to get your COVID-19 booster. Apart from mask wearing, a COVID-19 booster dose is your best form of defence against severe COVID-19 infection. It takes about two weeks after vaccination for the body to build full protection against COVID-19, so the time to act is now.  
• It is now more important than ever to wear a mask when out in public. Wearing a mask is the easiest way you can protect yourself, your whānau, and the vulnerable members of your community from getting COVID-19.  

Te Whatu Ora Southern: Health System Update  

COVID-19 cases in Southern have increased considerably in the last two weeks alongside the added burden of influenza infection and winter illnesses.  

“We are seeing an increase of COVID-19 cases especially amongst our older people, but we expect to see an increase in cases amongst younger age groups when children return to school after the school holidays,” says Dr Susan Jack, Medical Officer of Health.  

“Case numbers in Southern are about the same as they were back in March and wastewater testing is showing us that potentially more than half of people with COVID-19 in Southern are not reporting their infection. Please report your positive RAT result so that you can quickly be linked in with the appropriate care and support you need. Reporting your result also gives healthcare teams the information we need to plan and distribute resources where they are needed the most.”  

Primary care continues to be under significant pressure from high demand and significant numbers of staff off sick. Aged residential care facilities continue to have high numbers of staff and residents infected with COVID-19.      

“Our rising case numbers suggests New Zealand is at the beginning of a second COVID-19 wave and modelling suggests that hospital admissions could be higher than the first, with the more transmissible BA.5 variant quickly becoming the dominant strain in the community,” says Dr Hywel Lloyd, Executive Director of Quality & Clinical Governance.  
 
“For Southern the biggest jump in cases is amongst those aged 45 and over. That in turn has led to an increase in hospital occupancy. Currently the average age of people in hospital across the Southern district is 74 years old.  
 
To ease pressure on the health system and health workers, additional measures are being rolled out to help tackle the second COVID-19 wave and record levels of flu infection. This includes increasing access to antiviral medication for those most likely to end up in hospital, making free masks and RATs more widely available, and doing another push to lift uptake of flu and COVID-19 vaccines including the second booster. “ 

Dunedin and Southland Hospital COVID-19 wards are frequently reaching capacity and, although there are overflow plans in place, high levels of staff absence due to illness, isolation requirements and vacancies means staffing constraints are putting increased pressure on the health system.  

“Health staff across Southern are doing an incredible job under difficult circumstances. They should all be commended for their effort and dedication to patients and their community,” says Hamish Brown, Interim District Director Southern. “The easiest way the people of Southern can support our healthcare workers is to wear a mask when out in public. If you don’t have access to a mask, you can now get them for free when you order RATs.  

People are getting re-infected so please, even if you have already had COVID-19, wear a mask when you are out in our communities. Something as simple as wearing a mask could protect you and your loved ones from serious illness.”  

Hospitalisation figures  

Current hospitalisations as at 9am 15 July 2022   

Please note that hospitalisation data does not differentiate between patients admitted because of COVID-19 infection versus those admitted for a separate reason who happen to also have COVID-19 (incidental COVID-19 infection).  

The Ministry of Health total figures for Southern for the previous 24 hours are:  

• 895 new positive cases   
• 5529 (not recovered from last 7 days)   

Current cases as of 11.59pm 14 July 2022   

Please note, the Ministry of Health’s daily reported cases may differ slightly from those reported at a DHB or local public health unit level. This is because of different reporting cut off times and the assignment of cases between regions, for example when a case is tested outside their usual region of residence. Total numbers will always be the formal daily case tally as reported to the WHO. Due to the increased use of RATs and system lag issues there may be a discrepancy in the number of total active cases from the territorial authority breakdown.  

A decision has been made nationally that areas with less than 5 new cases per 24-hour period will be reported as “<5”. All territorial authorities with less than 100 cases will have their case numbers rounded to the nearest 5. We are unable to supply further information. Please contact the Ministry of Health directly for more information about these decisions.   

Testing locations and hours of operation can be found on the WellSouth website.   

If you have any questions about COVID-19, self-isolation, or what you need to do if you test positive, please call Healthline on 0800 358 5453.  

If you are self-isolating and require welfare support such as help getting groceries, please call 0800 512 337 Monday-Friday 8am-6pm and Saturday/Sunday/Public Holidays 8am-1pm.  

For help accessing COVID-19 testing in the Southern region and to find your nearest testing center please call the WellSouth call center on 0800 VIRUS19 (0800 847 8719).   

If you have concerns about COVID-19 symptoms, please call your general practice or Healthline on 0800 358 5453 at any time. If you are very unwell or having breathing difficulties, please call 111 immediately.