Mike Houlahan

A multibillion-dollar funding package for district health boards yesterday is a chance for Southern to claw back lost ground, chairman Dave Cull says.

The Covid-19 crisis has made this year’s International Nurses Day all the more significant, Southern District Health Board chief nursing and midwifery officer Jane Wilson said.

Nurses join the profession to help their community, but in recent weeks they have been serving in ways they might not have thought possible, WellSouth director of nursing Wendy Findlay says.

A weekend with no further cases of Covid-19 does not mean Otago and Southland are clear of danger where the pandemic disease is concerned, health authorities say.

When medical lecturer Ruth Barnett needed a helping hand — or a helping leg or a helping back for that matter — she did not need to look beyond her bubble to find one.

The Southern District Health Board is now moving from coping with Covid-19 to planning how to operate following the pandemic disease, chief executive Chris Fleming told his board this week.

Supply issues with the influenza vaccine ‘‘have been a real riddle’’, the Southern District Health Board was told yesterday.

It is likely to take at least a year for the Southern District Health Board to catch up on operations postponed because of the Covid-19 lockdown restrictions.

Alert Level 4 saved the southern region from a catastrophic Covid-19-driven overwhelming of hospital intensive care units, a Southern District Health Board report suggests.

Southern general practices, like doctor surgeries country-wide, are enduring financial hardship due to the Covid-19 pandemic, WellSouth chairman Doug Hill says.

Bruce Allpress, one of the most recognisable faces on New Zealand TV screens for decades, has died aged 89.

Tomorrow, New Zealand moves to Covid-19 Alert Level 3, and the South appears ready for the shift, having recorded eight consecutive days with no new cases of the pandemic disease.