Daily meetings for health officials on virus measures

The Southern District Health Board’s Emerging Infectious Disease Coordinating Committee continues to meet daily in response to Covid-19.

As of yesterday, New Zealand had eight confirmed cases of Covid-19.

That eighth case is a woman in Queenstown, who arrived in Auckland on flight QR920 from Doha, Qatar, on March 10, and flew to Christchurch the same day on flight JQ225, arriving at 8am. She travelled to Queenstown using a private rental vehicle.

SDHB medical officer of health Dr Susan Jack said the focus was on keeping the virus out, but being prepared to stamp it out if it arrives in the Southern District.

‘‘In the past two weeks, we have established an Emergency Co-ordination Centre at Wakari Hospital in Dunedin to coordinate and support planning activity across the Southern health system,’’ Jack said.

On Saturday, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced drastic new border measures, including a ban on cruise ships..

The Southern District Health Board (SDHB) is communicating daily with staff, the wider health sector (rural hospitals, GPs, aged residential care facilities, pharmacies, home care support services etc), Civil Defence emergency management, emergency services and the University of Otago.

Jack said the board had been preparing for the possible arrival of Covid-19 since mid-January, when it set up an Emerging Infectious Diseases Committee to monitor the progress of the illness and establish processes for ongoing preparations.

‘‘Our focus is to ‘keep it out’, and being prepared so that if Covid-19 arrives in the Southern district, we can stamp it out.’’

The SDHB would also need to prepare for the possibility of hospitalisations due to the illness, she said.

‘‘While we hope, and are working hard, to avoid that situation, we still need to be prepared,’’ Jack said.

Public Health South had been working closely with airports, travel operators, cruise ships, tertiary institutions and health professionals to manage health response at the borders and identify high-risk visitors.

‘‘We are personally greeting passengers from all international flights to provide information, advice and reassurance. We are also training extra staff to carry out contact tracing and case management should our region move into the ‘stamp it out’ or ‘manage it’ phases.’’

The SDHB was also working with WellSouth and primary care partners, rural hospitals and emergency departments to be able to detect the disease early and safely, should it arrive in the community, Jack said.

Anyone who thinks they have Covid-19, should not go directly to their GP or emergency department, but call Healthline on 0800 358 5453.

‘‘We still have the opportunity to stamp out this illness in New Zealand, and keep it out,’’ Jack said.

‘‘This requires a collective effort and we thank everyone across the health system and beyond who is doing their bit to prepare through planning, following health advice and helping us stay protected from this disease,’’ she said.

Meanwhile, in Invercargill, James Hargest College principal Andy Wood has confirmed that a visit by Thail students has been cancelled. They had been due to arrive yesterday.

A group of six students who had already arrived will be in isolation for two weeks.

‘‘We still have the opportunity to stamp out this illness in New Zealand, and keep it out.’’

Dr Susan Jack