Covid 19 Delta outbreak: Seven other residents and one staff member test positive at Auckland nursing home

Two residents who tested positive for Covid-19 at an Auckland care home have been transferred to hospital while five others are being treated at the facility.

A day after the first positive case of Covid-19 was announced at Edmonton Meadows Care Home, seven residents and one staff member tested positive for the virus.

A spokesperson for the Department of Health said 52 residents and 40 staff have been tested for the virus, and aside from the nine reported positive cases, all other test results have been returned and are negative.

“All residents requiring in-hospital care will be transferred accordingly,” the spokesperson said.

“Residential care facilities for the elderly are familiar with infection prevention and control measures and have processes in place to care for residents who are Covid-19 positive while ensuring the safety of other residents and staff. “

He said Edmonton Meadows continues to be supported by Public Health and the Waitematā District Board of Health.

A fully vaccinated resident at Henderson facility tested positive for Covid-19 on Friday.

Today, the health ministry said seven other residents and one staff member also tested positive, bringing the total number of cases in the nursing home to nine.

“It is important to note that there are high levels of immunization among the residents of the house and that all staff are fully immunized,” a spokesperson for the Department of Health said.

It is still unclear how the virus entered the nursing home.

All staff and residents of the private facility have now been tested and will also receive testing on Day 5 and Day 12.

Auckland Regional Public Health staff are providing support to the 60-bed care home and the only staff who had to be fired at this point was the one who had tested positive.

The nursing home offers hospital, dementia and nursing home care.

“The retirement village operated under Alert Level 3 guidelines for visitors, which means people were only able to visit the village for compassionate reasons,” the ministry spokesperson said.

The Herald learned Thursday evening that a resident of Edmonton Meadows had returned a positive test result.

The ministry said investigations were underway to determine the source of the infection.

A source said the woman “started showing symptoms … of high temperatures, rash, dry cough and discomfort last Friday.”

Last year, a Christchurch nursing home became New Zealand’s deadliest Covid-19 cluster. A total of 12 deaths were linked to the Rosewood rest home. He was found to have defaulted on his obligations, including cleaning services and emergency provision of personal supplies.

Six nursing homes have had cases of Covid-19 and some have ended transmission quickly.

But two of them, Rosewood and the CHT St Margaret nursing home for the elderly in Te Atatū in Auckland, at the time accounted for 16 of 22 Covid-related deaths in New Zealand.