Latest Northland Covid case an essential worker who visited Whangārei

The Northland District Health Board has confirmed the latest Covid positive case in the region is an essential worker from Kaitaia. Photo / Tania Whyte

A Northlander who tested positive for Covid this week and is isolating at home lives near Kaitaia but works in Whangārei during the week.

The case visited Awanui Hotel between 5.30pm and 7.30pm on October 31, Whangārei Pak'nSave between 11.45am and 1.50pm on November 1 and Liquorland Whangārei Central on Carruth St between 12 noon and 1pm the same day — the only new locations from the new case identified by the Ministry of Health as of yesterday. The total for the recent Northland outbreak remained at 15 cases— six active and nine recovered.

A Northland District Health Board spokeswoman confirmed the latest case was an essential worker who was now isolating in Whangārei.

The initial case in the wider Kaitaia area was a man whose former partner and children lived at Pukenui. His partner also tested positive for the virus.

Cases in the Far North included a cluster at Mangamuka, 30 minutes north of Kaikohe, along with cases at Omapere and Rawene on the Hokianga Harbour and the cases in the wider Kaitaia area encompassing Pukenui.

Case numbers for Northland also include those isolating at Kaiwaka, just north of the Auckland-Northland border.

Referring to the latest case, Whangārei Pak'nSave owner Todd Leathem said the ministry has given him no other information apart from the fact the premises were a location of interest and that staff and customers were classified as casual contacts.

This means anyone in-store between 11.45am and 1.50pm on November 1 should self-monitor for Covid-19 symptoms for 14 days. If symptoms develop, people should get a test and stay at home until they receive a negative test result and until 24 hours after symptoms resolve.

Leathem said high-touch points in the supermarket were cleaned six times a day as part of protocols put in place for the safety of staff and customers.

"All Pak'nSave supermarkets follow the same protocols and there's been no spread of Covid so the protocols are working," he said.

Meanwhile, Whangārei-based Pacific community leader Toa Luka is reaching out to his people in a bid to get them vaccinated.

The former professional boxer is using a boxing analogy to hammer the message about the need to get a Covid jab.

"I am a boxing trainer and boxing strategy is, the first thing you do in a boxing ring is double jab, then set up the defence, and counter strategy. That's what you do to keep Covid at bay."

The Niuean described the current push for Northlanders to get vaccinated as "authoritarian", which may not work with the Pacific community.

Luka said Pasifika leaders in Northland seemed slow in getting their people to the testing and vaccination stations.

According to the 2018 Census, there were 7521 Northlanders who identified as Pacific people.

There were 1112 Covid tests done in Northland as at 6am yesterday, bringing the total number of tests since August 16 to 51,574.

Vaccination numbers on Thursday were 378 first doses, 902 second doses and five third doses for a total of 1285.

So far, 230,868 doses have been administered in Northland.