Mystery surrounds the exact number of Covid-19 cases in the southern region following newly published research. Testing of blood samples from those who had not had a positive Covid-19 test suggested that nine of them had, in fact, had the disease. However, seven of the nine possible cases tested, who were counted by the Ministry of Health as having had the disease, returned a negative result for Covid-19 infection. The southern region had two major clusters, one associated with a wedding held at Bluff and one linked to a cattle conference in Queenstown. There were also close shaves, which included a case linked to Logan Park High School in Dunedin and two nurses at Lakes District Hospital in Queenstown testing positive.

Source: Otago Daily Times May 23, 2021 16:30 UTC