Covid 19 coronavirus: Health Ministry set to give update one week after Valentine’s Day outbreak

One week after Covid-19 was found in the community health officials are set to reveal whether there are any new cases.

There have not been any new cases in the community since Friday when another household contact tested positive.

That person and their family had been in isolation since Monday. There have been seven cases connected to the Valentine’s Day outbreak.

Health officials will send the update on case numbers in a statement about 1pm.

Auckland was plunged into a sharp 72-hour lockdown last Sunday night after three people in one family tested positive. It was lifted on Thursday morning after health officials deemed the outbreak to be well-contained.

The mother works at LSG Sky Chefs and handles laundry from international flights but the source of the infection is still unknown, with the likelihood of her being infected from a surface being deemed “very unlikely”.

The woman’s daughter also tested positive and was later found to have passed the virus to her classmate at Papatoetoe High School who in turn passed it on to her family.

Everyone at Papatoetoe High School has been tested, so far all the results have come back negative.

The school is set to reopen tomorrow but all staff and students need a negative test result before returning.

Vaccines

The vaccination campaign got underway this week with 100 vaccinators getting jabs on Friday and workers at the Jet Park quarantine facility getting theirs yesterday.

Lynette Faiva – the first MIQ worker to be vaccinated – said the vaccine was nothing to be afraid of.

“I didn’t feel anything. It was like a small prick. I’m going to tell them it doesn’t hurt and it was really easy,” Faiva said.

She said it was a privilege to be the first to receive the vaccine and was grateful for the opportunity.

“It was about providing another layer of protection.”

About 12,000 border and MIQ workers will be vaccinated over the next couple of weeks before their household contacts and then later the remaining general public.

Details of the wider public rollout, set to start in the second half of the year, is still be finalised.

Director general of health Dr Ashley Bloomfield said yesterday’s vaccinations marked a significant step forward in the fight against Covid-19.

“A milestone that protects those at highest risk of getting the virus and helping to reduce the risk of spreading into the community.”

Bloomfield said New Zealanders need to remember this pandemic is the most significant global public health challenge in a century and management it will require all our efforts for some time to come.

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