Southern DHB Media Update - Wednesday 1 September 2021
SWABBING – Attributable Dr Michael Butchard, Medical Officer of Health, Southern
Today more than 179 COVID-19 tests were taken by WellSouth staff and general practices around the district*.
*Please note testing data is preliminary and may vary from final data published by the Ministry of Health. It reflects recorded tests until 3pm. These figures are liable to change as testing continues during the late afternoon/evening.
VACCINATION* – Attributable Hamish Brown, Southern COVID-19 vaccine programme lead
The Southern COVID-19 vaccination programme has delivered 276,588 doses of the vaccine to date, 90,417 of which were second doses. Across the district, 61.1% of the population over 12 years has received at least one dose and 29.6% are fully vaccinated.
This is thanks to a tremendous effort from over 100 providers across the district, including pharmacies, general practices, Māori and Pasifika health providers, the staff at the DHB’s vaccination clinics in Invercargill and Dunedin – and of course a very positive response from the public. Thank you all for playing your part to keep the community safe.
From today, everyone aged 12 and over can book their COVID-19 vaccine and we launched this video with Dunedin’s own Highlanders to invite everyone to join the team against COVID-19: Join the Highlanders and get your COVID-19 vaccination today - YouTube.
To book your vaccine, visit bookmyvaccine.nz or call 0800 28 29 26.
Please note that the text appointment reminders are not currently going out. If you have an appointment booked, please check your booking confirmation and cancel or amend your booking if you can no longer make the appointment. This helps us know where there are available appointments across the district and ensure others don't miss out on the chance to get vaccinated sooner. You can change or cancel your appointments by going to bookmyvaccine.nz or by calling 0800 28 29 26.
*Please note these vaccination figures are indicative only and reflect vaccination numbers up to 4pm daily. These figures are liable to change as vaccination centres continue to vaccinate people during the late afternoon/evening.
CONTACT TRACING – Attributable Dr Michael Butchard, Medical Officer of Health, Southern
As of 5.00pm today (Wednesday 1 September), the national contact tracing system has fewer than five people recorded as close contacts in the Southern region.
At the peak, there were around 140 people recorded as close contacts in Southern, but most have now completed their 14 day isolation period.
Public Health South continues to support the national COVID-19 response, and our contact tracers are managing around 100 close contacts who are either currently or have been symptomatic since being at a location of interest. Most of these close contacts are in Auckland and coming to the end of their 14 day isolation period.