Aged-care facilities in the southern health region have been experiencing significant challenges as Covid infections rise.
Te Whatu Ora (Health New Zealand) reports that, as at Monday, 22 residential aged-care facilities in the southern district had Covid-positive residents and 32 had staff off sick due to Covid-19 infections.
Some residential aged-care facilities have closed to visitors in the short term as a precaution to protect their vulnerable residents.
If you have a loved one in a residential aged-care facility and are unsure if you can visit them, please phone the facility to check.
People who are able to visit loved ones at an aged-care facility will be asked to adhere to strict precautions, including wearing a surgical-grade mask at all times, hand hygiene measures and observing physical distancing.
On Tuesday, the Ministry of Health reported 917 new positive cases of Covid-19, and a total of 5903 cases (not recovered within the past seven days) in the southern district for the previous 24 hours. This included 424 new cases in Dunedin, making a total of 2925 cases.
As case numbers throughout New Zealand increase, so too does the instance of people testing positive for Covid-19 while they are away on holiday.
The southern district is seeing a rise in the demand for supported isolation (SIQ) facilities for tourists who test positive in our area.
Medical officer of health Dr Susan Jack said SIQ was a limited resource designed to provide members of the community who tested positive a safe place to isolate if they were unable to do so at their normal place of residence.
It was not designed as a resource for travellers.
"Travellers who test positive for Covid-19 while visiting the southern district will be required to self-fund their seven-day isolation period. People who choose to travel must take responsibility for themselves and travel at their own risk."
