Northland news in brief: No injuries in beach crash; and Police identify body found in forest

The driver of this Mitsubishi was lucky to escape injury after it crashed through bollards, over a wooden lookout and into dunes at Ocean Beach, Whangārei Heads, on Friday night. Photo / Mike Dinsdale

A car crashed off the road in Whangārei Heads on Friday night. The car drove off the car park at the end of Ocean Beach Rd and into the sand dunes. No one was injured.
The Mitsubishi station wagon also damaged a lookout memorial to the HMS Puriri at the beach. The fire service was called out around 9.50pm, but the vehicle was abandoned when they reached the scene. Police and ambulance were also called to the incident.
HMS Puriri was a merchant vessel commissioned into service as a minesweeper. She sank after striking a mine about eight nautical miles northeast of Bream Head, Whangārei, on May 14, 1941. The lookout monument to the sinking was unveiled at Ocean Beach in 2011.

Remains identified

Police believe they have established the identity of the remains found in Diggers Valley, Kaitaia, and have informed family members. The death is not being treated as suspicious and is being referred to the Coroner.

Beaches close

Due to dangerous beach conditions resulting from Cyclone Cody, Whangārei Heads did not open a flagged area at Ocean Beach over the weekend and Mangawhai Heads closed their flags during the day due to large surf and strong wind and currents.

Covid cases

There were three Covid 19 cases reported in Northland over the weekend - two on Saturday and one yesterday. Saturday's two new cases are from the same household in the Kaikohe area and are in isolation. Investigations are under way to determine how they are linked to the current outbreak. Sunday's new case is in Whangārei and the case is still under investigation for any links to previously reported cases. There are currently five active Northland cases, and the total number of confirmed cases is 111, with 106 cases released from isolation. There are no new Locations of Interest notified in Northland.
Covid testing and vaccination stations are open across Northland this week and to find out where and when go to https://www.northlanddhb.org.nz/home/covid-19.

NorthTec Covid policy

NorthTec has adopted a policy for required Covid-19 vaccination, effective from today, covering all its sites. This means that anyone planning to study in 2022 must be fully vaccinated by the start of semester one, with the majority of programmes getting under way on February 21. All ākonga (students), kaimahi (staff), contractors and visitors to NorthTec campuses and delivery sites are covered by the policy and must be able to prove their vaccination status using the My Vaccine Pass record. The policy is in line with Te Pūkenga's stance on vaccination, and is similar to those developed by all other polytechnics ad institutes of technology. Secondary school students who attend for secondary-tertiary study programmes are exempt from the policy, under Ministry of Education guidelines. Toa Faneva, Te Ahurei Chief Executive, said: "The policy has been adopted following a comprehensive risk assessment; consultation with ākonga and kaimahi; and deliberation by a consultation review group consisting of key staff plus ākonga, kaimahi and staff union representatives. ''The decision hasn't been taken lightly, and the impact on people in Te Tai Tokerau who are unvaccinated has been taken into consideration. The health and safety of everyone on NorthTec premises must be our paramount concern at this point.''