As students start to trickle back into the city for lectures which start on February 27, researchers are now urging students to take the virus seriously and make sure they report it, to help stop a surge in Covid-19 cases later this month.
Preventive and social medicine researcher Prof Lianne Parkin said Covid-19 began to spread through the student population in mid-February 2022, and reported case numbers rose rapidly between late February and early March.
The university, residential colleges and the Otago University Students’ Association mounted huge operations to provide support (including food and care packages) for hundreds of students self-isolating in colleges and flats.
While good mechanisms were established in colleges and other supported accommodation for identifying and reporting Covid-19 cases, anecdotal reports suggested students living in flats might have been less likely to report positive Covid-19 test results to the university, or to upload their positive rapid antigen test (Rat) results to My Covid Record, she said.
"We conducted short interviews at 135 randomly selected North Dunedin flats in which at least one resident was a University of Otago student, and found that Covid-19 was very common between the start of Flat Orientation Week [February 14] and the end of semester 1 [May 30]."
She said 94.1% of households had at least one confirmed Covid-19 case during that period and about three-quarters (73.6%) of residents had tested positive.
"We also found there was considerable under-reporting of cases with just under two-thirds (60.4%) of University of Otago student cases notifying the university that they had Covid-19 and two-thirds (66.9%) of all cases with a positive Rat uploading their result to My Covid Record."
Prof Parkin said the student results were a "microcosm" of what was happening in the wider community.
"Covid hasn’t gone away and it’s still with us. We’d like to think that it’s gone away — everybody’s a bit tired of it — but we still need to do those really basic things.
"If we have symptoms, we should get a test, and if we test positive we should report the results and self-isolate at home, because the only way we’re going to get a handle on what’s happening in the country is if people do report it. Remain vigilant."
Reporting infection to the university meant the university could provide food, care packages and academic support, she said.
"And similarly, uploading the results to My Covid Record means that your doctor is notified and they can periodically check in and make sure you are doing OK.
"If you are someone who is immunocompromised, you might be eligible for antiviral medication as well.
"It’s not just about reporting for the benefit of the wider community, it’s about reporting for the benefit of you."
