Getting tested on Sunday at Masterton Medical Centre’s drive-through site. PHOTO/MARY ARGUE
Delta case number two
SUE TEODORO
[email protected]
The delta outbreak in Wairarapa is spreading, with a second positive case confirmed in Masterton.
A Ministry of Health [MOH] spokesperson confirmed the new case early Tuesday afternoon, along with two new places of interest.
The announcement brings the region’s case total to two, one of which was announced on Monday.
Both cases are based in Masterton and are in isolation.
“These cases were identified through targeted testing as part of the follow-up of a visit to Masterton by one of the Taupo cases on the weekend of November 6 and 7,” the spokesperson said.
Public health staff are investigating links to known cases.
The two new places of interest are Stirling Sports and Cotton On, both on Queen St in Masterton, on Friday, November 12, at about lunchtime. People are advised to check the MOH website for additional locations.
People with symptoms, even if mild and they are vaccinated, should get a free covid test at the nearest medical practice.
As investigations continue, more locations will be added to the MOH website, if identified.
The announcements of the first positive case on Monday and other locations of interest over the weekend prompted a surge of testing across the region.
Almost a thousand people across Wairarapa were tested for covid on Sunday and Monday alone.
Wairarapa DHB confirmed on Tuesday that 476 tests were completed on Sunday and 511 tests were done on Monday.
Masterton Medical’s drive-through testing site had seen high demand, with reports of cars queuing down Colombo Rd outside the centre from early Monday morning.
There had also been good uptake of vaccinations, with 225 doses administered on Sunday alone.
Across the region, 36,873 of those eligible people have now had at least one dose [89 per cent] and 32,393 two doses [79 per cent].
Wairarapa is only 247 doses away from 90 per cent of those eligible having had their first dose.
The announcements come after Dr Ashley Bloomfield said at Monday’s 4pm press conference a positive covid case from Taupo had attended a sizeable gathering in Masterton earlier this month.
There was no suggestion of a regional lockdown, and contact tracing and other health investigations were continuing.
“One of the people from Taupo had visited there and was at a gathering of people who had come from other parts of the country,” Bloomfield said.
“They [public health officials] are doing an excellent job of getting through the network … and getting all those people tested.
There were over 30 people in Wairarapa who were at that gathering who were tested and offered vaccinations.”
Many of those who attended had now been vaccinated.
“Our team did a formal public health risk assessment yesterday [Tuesday], and there is nothing to suggest the need for any advice around alert levels,” he said.
No new cases were reported on Tuesday in the MidCentral region [Palmerston North], with two in the Lakes region [Taupo].
- More information about testing, vaccines, cases and locations of interest is at https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/diseases-and-conditions/covid-19-novel-coronavirus and http://www.wairarapa.dhb.org.nz/news-and-publications/covid-19/
