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New instructions have been posted this afternoon for people who visited the Tauriko BP service station around the same time as a person who may have been infectious with Covid-19.
The Ministry of Health has updated the BP Tauriko location of interest information, splitting the building and forecourt into differentrisk areas, and says people should keep an eye on the list in case of more updates.
The Uppercrust Bakery at 504 Maunganui Rd, and BP Tauriko, at 1 Taurikura Drive, were named locations of interest today following news yesterday a truck driver tested positive after crossing Auckland's alert level 4 border and travelling to Hamilton, Cambridge and Tauranga.
The bakery owner has said it was "a massive shock" while the BP has reopened after a deep clean.
Uppercrust Bakery in Mount Maunganui has a sign up explaining it is a location of interest. Photo / George Novak
The bakery was visited twice. The first was on Saturday, September 11, between 10.10am to 12.05pm.
The second visit was three days ago on Tuesday between 9.55am and 11.50am.
The service station was visited on Saturday, September 11, between 7.45am and 9.15am.
People who were at the station's outdoor forecourt only in that window are instructed to stay at home, get tested immediately as well as five days after visiting the site, and stay home until getting a negative five-day result.
The BP Tauriko, at 1 Taurikura Drive, was visited by someone with Covid on Saturday, September 11, between 7.45am and 9.15am. Photo / George Novak
The service station building and bakery have been assessed as higher risk, being indoor spaces.
People who visited those spaces in the timeframes are instructed to self-isolate for 14 days and get tested immediately, and again five and 12 days after being exposed.
Members of the public are also urged to record their visit on the ministry's website or to call Healthline on 0800 611 116 so contact tracers can get in touch.
Uppercrust Bakery owner John-Paul van der Meys said it was a "massive shock".
"We haven't even recovered from the last lockdown and now we have to stay locked down again for another 14 days.
"We found out about 4.15pm yesterday. We're obviously close contacts so everyone in our households is a casual contact. We have to self isolate until we get out day five test back.
"It's a huge hit [for the business]. Literally, we get no time to prepare to close, everything was ready to go for today and all my staff are close contacts so we can't even go in and do a deep clean until after our 14 days."
Two of the four staff van der Meys employs are immunocompromised, so they had all been particularly careful around following Ministry of Health guidelines leading up to this.
"Going by a few places I've visited, we're a hell of a lot more strict than everywhere else.
"[When open] we were taking every step to keep us safe, as well as our staff and we have a newborn baby at home.
"We know how Delta is pretty effective at spreading so we've been keeping as safe as we can. I'm pretty sure me and my girls are safe, we'll do our bit and stay home and clean up the mess when we're allowed," van der Meys said.
"We have a great customer base so I'm looking forward to seeing them all when we're back open and trading. We're hoping for September 30."
A BP spokesman told the Bay of Plenty Times the safety and well-being of customers and team members continued to be "our utmost priority, alongside maintaining safe, compliant and reliable operations".
"BP Connect Tauriko was temporarily closed for deep cleaning and has since reopened," he said.
"We are following Ministry of Health guidelines after being named as a location of interest and ask our customers to do the same. Our team members have been notified. Impacted team members are isolating, undergoing testing and closely monitoring for any symptoms."
The bakery posted on its Facebook page, letting customers know it was a location of interest.
"What this means for you if you visited and QR coded you will be contacted," the post said.
"On a positive note you have all been really good at wearing your masks and we have been handing masks to non-compliant people.
"So we hope to be open Thursday the 30th Sept."
The Uppercrust Bakery Mount Maunganui has been identified as a location of interest. Photo / George Novak
The new locations of interest released this morning follow news yesterday a truck driver tested positive after crossing Auckland's alert level 4 border and travelled to Hamilton, Cambridge and Tauranga.
The truck driver and a family member who tested positive for Covid-19 have been transferred to MIQ. He visited a number of supermarkets in Auckland, Waikato and Bay of Plenty.
Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson said today a person in the truck driver's household was symptomatic and got tested, and so did the truck driver. Both results came back positive. Prior to that, they had been tested before.
The driver was a partner of Foodstuffs, which has brands including Pak'nSave, Four Square and New World.
The company said the driver wore protective gear and followed and Covid-19 protocols while delivering to "a number of stores" in Auckland, Waikato and Bay of Plenty.
Bay of Plenty District Health Board Covid-19 incident controller Trevor Richardson said there was enough testing capacity in the region, but it could 'stand up' more community-based testing if needed.
He said testing capacity was constantly monitored.
He said there were four community-based providers which would be open this weekend - two in Tauranga, one in Pāpāmoa, and one in Whakatāne.
People can also call Healthline directly on 0800 358 5453 for advice on where to get tested.
Community-based testing open this weekend
• Accident & Healthcare: Second Avenue, Tauranga - open Saturday and Sunday 8am to 6pm. • Healthcare on Fifteenth: Fifteenth Avenue, Tauranga - Saturday 8am to 12pm. • Tara Road Medical Centre: 1 Tara Road, Pāpāmoa - Saturday 8am to 12pm. • Te Puna Ora o Mataatua Med Central Portacom: 52B King St, Whakatāne - Saturday 10am to 4pm.
