Kaikohe shoppers who visited the town's New World between March 20-30 are being advised to check their health in coming days. Photo / File
Kaikohe shoppers who visited the town's New World between March 20-30 are being advised to check their health in coming days. Photo / File
Kaikohe New World shoppers are being urged to keep an eye on their health following contact tracing on Northland's latest confirmed Covid-19 case.
In a statement from the Northland District Health Board (NDHB) late today, it advised anyone who shopped at Kaikohe's New World supermarket between March 20-30 to checkthemselves for Covid-19 symptoms.
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The warning comes after contact tracing was conducted on Northland's latest confirmed case of Covid-19, which brought the region's total to 14 (13 confirmed and one probable).
NDHB Medical Officer of Health Dr Catherine Jackson accepted the news would be distressing but encouraged only those with symptoms to seek testing.
"While I acknowledge our community will feel concerned, you only need to be tested if you have symptoms of Covid-19," she said.
Jackson said it was important to practise Covid-19 health and safety guidelines including hand washing, social distancing and only going into town for essential purposes.
The NDHB said it had no confirmed or probable cases in any Northland hospitals. On Friday, it confirmed there were 12 cases under investigation at three Northland hospitals.
Six cases under investigation were at Whangārei Hospital, four at Bay of Islands Hospital and two at Kaitaia Hospital.
According to the Ministry of Health, being under investigation is someone who is eligible for testing but has not yet been tested, or is someone who has been tested and do not yet have a result.
People who were being tested were quarantined (self-isolated) until their test results were available.
A probable case is someone who has been in close contact with a confirmed case and has an illness that is consistent with Covid-19, while their testing for Covid-19 is inconclusive and other causes of their illness (for example flu) have been ruled out.
These people were isolated and contact traced as if they were a confirmed case.
Northland cases:
Case 1 (RECOVERED): Male, 20s. Departed Paris on flight EY38 to Abu Dhabi on March 14, then to Sydney on flight EY450 and then to Auckland on VA0141, arriving on March 16 Case 2: Female, 40s. Departed Melbourne on flight JQ217 to Auckland on March 15 Case 3: Female, 50s. Departed UK on flight EK38 to Dubai on March 19. Departed Dubai on flight EK448 for Auckland on March 21 (recovering in Whangarei hospital as of 26/3) Case 4: Male, 60s. Departed Los Angeles on flight NZ1 on March 23 and arrived in Auckland on March 24 Case 5: Female, 20s. Departed Dubai on flight EK448 on March 19 Case 6: Female, 20s. Departed Dubai on flight EK448 and arrived in New Zealand on March 24 Case 7: Female, 60s (probable). Travelled from the United States out of LAX on March 18 and arrived in New Zealand on March 19. Case 8: Female, 40s Case 9: Female, 20s. Departed Canada on flight GB615 on March 23 and arrived in New Zealand on the same date. Case 10: Male, 50s. Departed United States and arrived in New Zealand on March 22. Case 11: Female, 30s. No international travel. Case 12: Female, 40s. No international travel. Case 13: Male, 50s. Case 14: Unknown
To date, there had been 1047 Covid-19 tests taken across Northland's seven community-based assessment centres.
Head to the bottom of the story for details on the centres
New Zealand's national case tally is now 950 with the addition of 82 new cases, announced by Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield in a media conference today.
Of the 82 new cases, 52 were confirmed and 30 were probable as at 9am today. Bloomfield said 10 people were in stable conditions in various hospitals while a total of 127 cases had recovered from the virus.
Bloomfield said there has been a "flattening off" of new cases but he would like to see another two or three days of lower new cases numbers to be confident of that.
