Covid 19: Staff at Motueka clinic linked to Omicron cases not isolating

By RNZ

Staff at the Motueka medical centre who saw patients linked to the Omicron outbreak don't have to isolate.

Patients who visited Greenwood Health on Friday between 11.40am to 1.45pm are considered close contacts and should isolate and get tested immediately and again on day five.

Greenwood Health clinical manager Naomi Rosamond told Morning Report the staff members would have regular testing.

"There was a risk stratification done with the infectious disease specialist in our region as well as public health just to overview what precautions we as a practice take."

Rosamond said the clinic put a lot of work to prepare for this situation.

"We're not just really good with our PPE work, we've also instituted things like HEPA filters into all of the clinical rooms and ensured that we've had as much cross ventilation as possible."

Staff also make sure as much as possible that people who come into the clinic are wearing correct face masks.

"Based on that risk assessment it's deemed that the staff, although they don't actually need to stand down for this time period, they do need to have testing on a regular basis so that if anything were to occur in them that they don't actually then potentially spread it to the rest of the staff."

She said around 20 patients have had to isolate.

A few others would have entered the clinic during that time who weren't in the system, she said.

"We still are seeing our patients as normal, we are trying to as much as possible, if it's relevant and appropriate, to get virtual consultations up and running for patients, both as a measure to protect them but also ourselves."