Nine Covid cases in Nelson area

Nine new cases of Covid-19 have been discovered in the Nelson area.

All of the cases live in the same household, Nelson Marlborough Health confirmed to Things.

Things understands that the cases are in Motueka. The variant of the virus has not been confirmed.

Public health officials are investigating recent travel to Auckland as a possible source of infection. Case interviews are ongoing and any locations of interest will be added to the Department of Health website.

Eight of the cases were reported after the Ministry of Health reporting deadline Friday morning will therefore be added to the official Saturday count.

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Dr Alexandra Greig, Nelson Marlborough Medical Officer of Health, said: ‘We would like to thank the cases for their swift action in coming in for testing. This allowed for a rapid public health response.

“It’s a timely reminder for anyone with symptoms, however mild, to get tested.”

Earlier this month Nelson eradicated his last community Covid outbreak, after everyone who contracted the virus recovered.

A total of 23 people contracted Covid-19 during the Nelson Delta outbreak in late November and December, with one person ending up in hospital for treatment. The first case was announced on November 29.

There was two clusters of cases in the November-December outbreak, one with 19 and the other – tied to a North Island cluster – with four. The majority of cases were not fully vaccinated.

Nelson Bays Primary Health chief executive Sara Shaughnessy said testing for Covid-19 in the Nelson area was being stepped up in light of the latest positive cases.

There would be more testing capacity at the Motueka Recreation Center and Saxton Field test sites in Stoke today and over the weekend, Shaughnessy said. The Motueka Recreation Center would be open until 4 p.m. Friday and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, while the Saxton Field venue would be open until 6 p.m. Friday and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. h on Saturday and Sunday.

Vaccinations were also still ongoing at walk-in clinics in the area and at participating general practice centers and pharmacies, she said.

Shaughnessy said systems were in place to manage Covid-19 in the community and help people who might contract it to be cared for at home. Primary Health, Nelson Marlborough Health and GPs would work together to ensure people’s healthcare needs were met at home, and people who tested positive for Covid-19 would be regularly called by health authorities to check that they were fine, she said.

The Ministry of Health said that to deal with the increase in contagiousness of Omicron, as an interim measure, the isolation time for all Covid-19 cases would now be extended to 14 days, up from the previous 10 days.

There would be a similar change, effective today, for close contacts. All close contacts will now be isolated for 10 days instead of seven.

Tasman District Council Mayor Tim King said he understood the cases were in Motueka.

The particular variant of the virus was not confirmed, he said, as test results were still being processed.

King said the important thing the community needs to do now is be vigilant in checking out places of interest and continue to follow protocols for wearing a mask, social distancing and scanning QR codes.