PHOTO/FILE
All council employees and contacts tested and negative
MARCUS ANSELM
[email protected]
The Carterton District Council worker who tested positive for covid-19 has received the all clear but said he went through “a really difficult time” and received “really harsh” social media comments.
The man, aged in his 30s, who wishes to remain anonymous, has been cleared of the coronavirus by Public Health.
Nine CDC colleagues, and the man’s friends and family have also been tested.
All returned negative results
Carterton Mayor Greg Lang said last Saturday that the man had tested positive for the virus. Since then, nationwide measures have been taken to control the spread of the pandemic, with New Zealand now in a state of emergency and at Alert Level Four.
“Although I’ve been cleared by Public Health, I will continue to do everything I can to help protect my community and follow the isolation rules under the current alert level,” he said.
“Being stuck on your own is really difficult. Please keep in touch with your neighbours over the fence and keep a safe distance.”
“This has been a really difficult time for me,” he said.
“My workmates and 99 per cent of people out there have been really supportive but some have been really harsh on social media.
“I just want to remind people to please be kind to everyone.”
A CDC spokesperson said it had been “a very difficult and stressful time for all individuals involved”.
“This person did everything right and went into self-isolation as soon as they started to show symptoms, including not coming into work.
“Any speculation to the contrary has been damaging to the community’s sense of calm and accurate access to information, and to the staff member’s well-being.
“It has also been a period of anxiety, not just for the affected staff member, but for any staff and close contacts who were awaiting test results.”
At time of print, only one other case was confirmed in Wairarapa. A woman in her 20s was announced as New Zealand’s 140th covid-19 sufferer on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, the number of confirmed cases in New Zealand stood at 189 with an additional 16 probable cases giving a total 205.
There have been four community transmission cases including the Carterton council employee.
Twenty-two people were said to have recovered as at 9.30am on Wednesday.
Columbo Road is closed to all traffic at the netball courts but strangely nothing mentioned in the TA. If there is a reason why hasn’t something been said publicly? Do we have to rely on Facebook these days or neigbourly for news? I hope not; it will be the deathknell for newspapers.