Covids shadow reaches top of the south

THERE are calls for tougher measures to limit the transmission of Covid between the North and South Islands after the South Island recorded its first community case in nearly a year.

The case has been labelled a wake up call for the South Island, after it was revealed it was likely linked to the Te Awamutu cluster.

The Ministry of Health said the individual flew from Rotorua and arrived in Blenheim on October 21. He sought a test upon arrival after developing a sore throat.

There was no good news for Auckland or Waikato either; 91 cases were reported n Auckland and eight in Waikato. There were also four in Northland, including two children under 12, and the single South Island case in Nelson-Marlborough.

Professor of Public Health, Michael Baker, said officials should start thinking about ‘‘a very proactive policy to limit transmission now from the North Island to the South Island’’.

A single isolated case flying to Blenheim

should be quite manageable, provided contact tracing was ‘‘very rapid’’.

The Blenheim case illustrated the challenge of trying to contain the outbreak where there was ongoing transmission, Baker said.

‘‘It does mean the system will have to remain very vigorous if it’s to avoid this virus transmitting throughout New Zealand, which it could do quite quickly. It does mean we need a very vigorous effort to stamp out the remaining chain of transmission in Waikato.

‘‘If transmission becomes well established in Waikato, it’s obviously much harder to maintain a boundary around there.’’

The case also raised questions about whether there was going to be a strong containment policy to prevent the virus becoming established in the South Island.

‘‘Fairly obviously, it would be good to think about a very proactive policy to limit transmission now from the North Island to the South Island.’’

University of Auckland microbiologist Associate Professor Dr Siouxsie Wiles said the case showed why the South Island had not been put at alert level 1, and it was a wake-up call for the south.