Carter said Far North lines company Top Energy and contracting company Broadspectrum also had workers who had tested positive. A case of Covid-19 at New World in Kaikohe had already been widely reported.
''The point I'm making is that it's in our community, it's amongst us, so we have to be aware, alert and careful,'' he said.
Top Energy chief executive Russell Shaw said a staff member at the Kerikeri office had tested positive but had fully recovered and had gone back to working from home on Monday. The staffer did not require hospital treatment.
Shaw said nine work contacts had gone into isolation and the office had been sanitised. All had tested negative which he put down to good social distancing within the workplace. All office staff were now working from home, he said.
Field staff were continuing to work — ''we still have to keep the power on'' — but were disinfecting tools between jobs, maintaining social distancing and staying within their own work bubbles.
''The guys have been very careful and are doing an excellent job. They don't want to take this stuff home.''
