Covid 19 Delta outbreak: Rangitīkei mayor hopes locations of interest will encourage vaccination

A Covid-19 testing centre will be operating at the Taihape Health Centre on Sunday. Photo / File

Rangitīkei mayor Andy Watson hopes more people will be encouraged to get vaccinated after the visit of the Covid-19 positive truck driver to the district.

A Covid-19 testing centre opened in Taihape yesterday following the revelation of locations of interest in the Rangitīkei district after an Auckland-based driver, who travelled to Palmerston North for work purposes, tested positive for Covid-19.

Watson was due to get an update from the Whanganui DHB yesterday afternoon.

"When I heard I knew it was highly likely that the driver would have visited businesses in Bulls, Hunterville, and Taihape," he said.

Watson said he hoped that anyone who had visited the locations of interest in the region would be self-isolating.

"One good thing that might come from this is that it will encourage more people to get vaccinated," he said.

"The vaccination rate in the region has been fairly low so this might encourage an increase."

Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield said the positive case was picked up through routine surveillance which showed the value of this form of testing.

The driver was in Palmerston North when they received news of the positive test and are isolating in a "bespoke" facility on Palmerston North Hospital grounds.

Family members are also isolating.

Genome sequencing is under way to work out the link with the Auckland outbreak.

The Whanganui DHB said in a statement that anyone who was at one of the locations at the specified times must stay at home, get tested for Covid-19 as soon as possible and get tested again five days after they were at the location.

People should continue to stay at home until they get a negative result from the five-day test.

A community Covid-19 testing centre was operating in Taihape yesterday.

The testing centre at the Whanganui Hospital campus will be open from 8am to 3pm today.

Even if you were not at a location of interest, if you have any cold, flu or Covid-like symptoms, call your doctor or Healthline on 0800 358 5453 to get advice about being tested.

Locations of interest in the Whanganui region are:

• BP 2GO Hunterville – 3625 State Highway 1, Hunterville 4730 on Saturday, October 2 between 7.10am and 8.30am.

• BP Connect Taihape – 80 Hautapu St, Taihape 4720 on Thursday, September 30 between 6.37am and 7.45 am.

There are also locations of interest in Palmerston North:

• Burger King – 395 Rangitikei St, Palmerston North 4410 on Tuesday, September 38 between 4pm and 5.30pm.

• Burger King – 395 Rangitikei St, Palmerston North 4410 on Thursday, September 30 between 5.58pm and 7.15pm.

• Challenge Longburn – 56 State Highway 56, Longburn, Palmerston North 4412 on Tuesday, September 28 between 10am and 11.30am.