Covid-19 coronavirus: Four staff at rest home near Hamilton test positive for Covid-19

Four staff at a rest home where a case of Covid-19 was confirmed earlier this week now also have the coronavirus.

The news comes as New Zealand's cases of Covid-19 jump to 283 confirmed infections, including five probable cases.

A male resident in the hospital wing of the Atawhai Assisi Rest Home near Hamilton confirmed positive for Covid-19 on Monday after his daughter visiting from Australia tested positive on her return.

The news sent 27 staff into self-isolation as they awaited test results. Now Tamahere Eventide Home Trust chief executive Louis Fick says four of those staff have also received positive test results.

None are in hospital and no other residents have tested positive. The man who tested positive has not shown any symptoms, Fick said.

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"We stood down 27 staff and four of them have tested positive and we're still waiting for results," Fick said.

"They have to stay away for 14 days from their last contact with the person that was infected.

"The other issue is they don't test every person. They only test those with symptoms so if you have no symptoms they don't test you.

"Ideally we'd like every staff member, every resident to be tested but it's not realistic."

Fick said remaining staff were working very hard to cope with the extra demand, with 25 per cent of the rest home workforce in isolation.

"It makes it very tough because if you lose a quarter of your staff in any business, it's hard and also the uncertainty of when they would be back."

Volunteer nurses and outside workers had offered to help out the essential service in the meantime, Fick said.

"A local nurse who just returned from Australia a month ago phoned up and said she was ready and able to work.

"So we've had a number of people turn up willing to work which is just fantastic."

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Fick said because the rest home was in lockdown residents were unable to leave their rooms.

Instead staff had set up a Facebook page for families of residents to check in on their loved ones.

• Covid19.govt.nz: The Government's official Covid-19 advisory website