Covid 19 Delta outbreak: Fourth case confirmed in Ōtorohanga, Waikato

The Waikato town of Kāwhia was visited by a Covid-positive person earlier this week. Photo / Supplied

A young woman and her partner, who tested positive for Covid after staying with family in a small Waikato town, have sparked concerns the virus might be more widespread in the community.

Ōtorohanga mayor Max Baxter said the couple had been in Kāwhia staying with family during the lockdown and were tested before they travelled home to Pukekohe earlier in the week.

The Ministry of Health said the couple did not receive their positive results until they were in Auckland, where they were now isolating.

Baxter said there were a number of unanswered questions now - chief among them, where the couple caught the virus.

"If they were living and staying in Kāwhia, how did they contract Covid? You've got to get it from somewhere."

He said testing in the community would be key over the next few days. Households in Kāwhia were on septic tanks so wastewater testing would not reveal anything.

Earlier today Baxter said the pair were in Kāwhia until Tuesday this week.

"Unfortunately there has been a positive case of Covid-19 detected in Kāwhia yesterday," he said on Facebook this morning.

Baxter said the DHB had told him the people concerned had been in Kāwhia for several months and there had been no "breach of protocol or regulations".

While the couple had not broken the rules in getting to Kāwhia, he was not sure how the woman's grandfather was able to drop them back to Pukekohe.

Mōrena Kāwhia whānau, Unfortunately there has been a positive case of Covid-19 detected in Kāwhia yesterday. The person...

Posted by Max Baxter on Thursday, October 28, 2021

Baxter also confirmed a case in Ōtorohanga on social media yesterday morning. It came after two people in the community tested positive for Covid-19 at the weekend.

Ōtorohanga's original two cases were linked to a close contact in Te Awamutu.

Baxter asked residents to get tested and book a vaccination if they had not already been vaccinated.

Max Baxter, mayor of Ōtorohanga District, confirmed a person with Covid had been in Kawhia earlier this week. Photo / Supplied

"Keep Kāwhia safe and stay in your bubble," he said.

With people in the region looking forward to making the most of the first weekend in level 3.1, Baxter urged people to maintain social distancing.

He said he had already heard of breaches of the rules this morning which was "incredibly frustrating" for all those who were sticking to them and for the rest of the country.

The district has been in level 3 lockdown, along with much of the rest of the Waikato, since October 7. The region was moved to phase 1 of level 3 this week.

There was one other case identified in Ōtorohanga today, according to the Ministry of Health bringing the total number of cases in the Ōtorohanga district this week to six.

Another three cases were today reported in the Te Awamutu/Kihikihi area.

It takes the total number of Waikato cases in the outbreak to 107 - including the Kāwhia couple.

There will be a testing station set up in Kāwhia today at Maketu Marae. It will be open for three days from 11am until 3pm.

The Delta outbreak in Waikato has seeded in marginalised communities, according to Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins, prompting concerns it could mirror the outbreak in Auckland and spread all over the North Island.

Yesterday Hipkins warned it was a matter of when, not if, Delta would leak further out of Auckland.

Despite that, he said the Government followed Public Health advice in moving Waikato into the same level 3 restrictions as Auckland.

People in level 3 in Waikato can now have outdoor gatherings between two households up to a maximum of 10 people, and ECEs can open with 10-children bubbles.

Waikato's alert-level setting will be reviewed on Monday, along with Auckland's.