Covid 19 Omicron outbreak: Dozens of close contacts at Wakatipu High School

Wakatipu High School has confirmed one student has tested positive for Covid, and it has two other probable cases, with 43 students and four teachers identified as close contacts so far.

In an email to the school community last night, seen by Mountain Scene, principal Steve Hall says they're confident no close contacts were generated at the school by the positive case, but they're taking a "cautious approach" in relation to the two probable cases.

The students so far identified as close contacts are primarily Year 13s, and "a few" year 12s.

Hall notes "not wearing masks correctly was a key determinant in the generation of the close contacts".

Hall earlier yesterday said he expected the school to be open and operating as normal today.

The number of Covid-19 cases in the Queenstown Lakes district yesterday reached 100 amid a trickle of new cases elsewhere in the South.

The Southern District Health Board yesterday evening released a breakdown of cases across the South and of the 39 new cases announced yesterday 35 were in Queenstown Lakes.

That brought the total number of new cases in the district to 100 out of a total of 118 across the whole DHB area.

Of the other new cases, two were in Dunedin and two were in the Southland District Council area, which excludes Gore and Invercargill.

At 1pm yesterday there were 484 close contacts isolating throughout the South, of whom 335 are in the Queenstown Lakes district.

There were 1160 new community cases of Covid-19 reported in New Zealand yesterday.

WellSouth has released data on testing rates across the South revealing between Thursday last week and Tuesday 8148 Covid-19 tests had been administered.

This included 3206 in Dunedin, 2382 in Queenstown and 1417 in Invercargill.

Current cases in south

Southern District
Total new: 39
Total active: 118

Central Otago
Total new: 0
Total active: 0

Clutha
Total new: 0
Total active: 0

Dunedin
Total new: 2
Total active: 6

Gore
Total new: 0
Total active: 4

Invercargill
Total new: 0
Total active: 3

Queenstown Lakes
Total new: 35
Total active: 100

Southland
Total new: 2
Total active: 5

Waitaki
Total new: 0
Total active: 0

Source: Ministry of Health, 11.59pm February 15.