UPDATE: Contact Tracing
Contact tracing for the two people who have tested positive to date has not identified any places of interest where there may have been exposure for the general public.
Defined contacts are in the process of being contacted to proceed for testing.
Therefore people who do not have symptoms do not need to be tested.
UPDATE: 2nd Case
Second Positive Case in Tairāwhiti:
A second person from Tairāwhiti has been diagnosed with Covid-19 today. They are in the same household as the first person as announced earlier today.
This person has also been in self-isolation and will remain in quarantine for another 9 days.
Testing
If you or your whānau have cold or flu symptoms, sore throat, cough, or gastro symptoms like diarrhoea please get tested.
Testing is available
- Christmas Day - 110 Peel street – 9am – 12pm
- Boxing Day -110 Peel Street - 9am – 12pm
- Your GP out of these hours
Please note the rapid antigen testing at pharmacies is only for asymptomatic people who need it for travel purposes.
Vaccination
Most important of all is getting vaccinated.
Please encourage whānau to drop in and get their vaccinations as soon as possible.
Community Vaccination Centre – 295 Palmerston Rd
- Christmas Day – 9am to 11am
- Boxing Day – 9am to 11am
Find out other options on coming days where you can get a vaccination/booster done look here: https://bit.ly/3ydZELZ
Positive case in Tairāwhiti:
A person from Tairāwhiti diagnosed with COVID-19 today [24 December 2021] has been praised by health officials for their actions to help keep others safe.
Testing results have confirmed Tairāwhiti has its first confirmed case of COVID-19 in the current pandemic.
Hauora Tairāwhiti’s chief executive Jim Green says the person has been in self-isolation and will remain in quarantine for another nine days.
Everyone the person has been in contact with since they became infectious is now being followed up as contacts by local public health officials and Takatū Hub staff.
There are no places of interest to announce at this stage.
Positive cases in Tauranga:
The confirmation of a positive case in Tairāwhiti today follows an announcement on Thursday [23 December 2021] that a different person from Tairāwhiti was diagnosed with COVID-19 in Tauranga and remains in Tauranga.
Mr Green says this person left the district on Saturday 18 December and tested positive on Tuesday 21 December.
This person is a close contact of a Bay of Plenty resident who travelled to Tairāwhiti on 12 December, stayed six days, and also left the district on Saturday 18 December.
This third person subsequently tested positive for COVID-19 on Sunday 19 December in Tauranga.
The Bay of Plenty public health team is still working to identify any other contacts or locations of interest for the two cases recovering now in Tauranga.
Mr Green says “all three people have done everything right by getting tested and as a result they are helping keep themselves and the wider community safe.”
General:
“The situation is a stark reminder that COVID-19 has come into Tairāwhiti and households need to be ready to manage if someone in their family tests positive for COVID-19.”
He says families and whānau need to work out in advance what will happen if someone needs to isolate in the house.
“Think about what your family will need such as an emergency contact list, medication, extra food, personal care needs, sanitiser, masks, and soap, and things to help stave off isolation boredom.”
For more ideas and a full COVID-19 readiness checklist visit https://covid19.govt.nz/health-and-wellbeing/care-in-the-community/
Meanwhile, if you or your whānau have cold or flu symptoms, a sore throat, cough, or gastro symptoms like diarrhoea, please get tested for COVID-19.
Testing is available today [24 December] at:
110 Peel St, 9am - 4pm or with your local GP. Testing is available Christmas Day and Boxing Day at 110 Peel St, 9am–12 noon.
Please note the rapid antigen testing at pharmacies is for asymptomatic people who need a test for travel purposes.
Most important of all is getting vaccinated. Find out where you can get a vaccination/booster done here: https://bit.ly/3ydZELZ