More testing times ahead

Region on edge as three Covid-19 community cases confirmed

Two more active cases of Covid-19 in the Nelson region have residents queueing for tests and vaccinations.

The Ministry of Health announcement yesterday followed an active case in the region on Monday – the first since 2020.

Both of the new cases were known contacts of the first case.

All three cases were in isolation, and investigations into the source of infection were ongoing, the ministry said in its daily update.

‘‘So far, initial case interviews have identified a small number of close contacts, who are also isolating with testing arranged.

‘‘All three cases are in isolation, with investigations into the source of infection ongoing. So far, initial case interviews have identified a small number of close contacts, who are also isolating with testing arranged.’’

A Ministry of Health spokesperson said a link to another case has not yet been identified.

The cases had been cooperating with Nelson Marlborough public health, which had ‘‘enabled health staff to determine a range of initial locations of interest across Nelson and Tasman’’, the ministry’s statement said.

The ministry spokesperson said it doesn’t share vaccination status of individuals, saying that this was personal health information. Several exposure events were being assessed and locations of interest have been published on the ministry’s website, dating back to November 19, and more were expected to be added.

These include service stations, local restaurants, Richmond Mall, and a poultry farm.

Nelson Marlborough Health chief medical officer Dr Nick Baker said it was entirely possible there were more people in the community who had Covid but did not know it yet.

‘‘Whenever we have a case like this, we’re never quite sure which case we’ve found,’’ he said.

‘‘If you imagine [Covid-19 like] a stone dropped into a pond, when you find a ripple, are you at the edge of the pond and there’s ripples everywhere else as well, or are you at the first one right in the middle. With the Marlborough case we had recently, we did catch the case right in the middle and so there were no more.’’

Contacts were being checked diligently to determine how prevalent Covid-19 was in the community, but in the meantime everyone needed to ‘‘keep doing the good things that they’re doing’’ to keep themselves and others safe, he said.

That included wearing masks, hand-washing, and contact tracing, with the addition of a daily check-in to see what the locations of interest were.

He said people should treat checking locations of interest ‘‘like brushing your teeth’’, doing it every day, and if possible twice.

‘‘This is really telling us that Covid is potentially in the community, and at this stage we’re not sure how prevalent it is.’’

Anyone with symptoms was urged to get tested, even if they were vaccinated, and remain isolated until they received a negative result.

Nelson Bays Primary Health chief executive Sara Shaughnessy said there had been a surge in people getting tested and vaccinated for Covid-19 in Nelson and Richmond since news of the positive case emerged.

Cars were yesterday lining up on Saxton Rd, Stoke with people waiting to be tested for Covid at Saxton Field.

Testing was being done there until 6pm, and at a pop-up testing site at Trafalgar Centre until 6pm. People in the queue reported waittimes of over an hour and a half.

Nelson Mayor Rachel Reese encouraged people to get in touch with their GP or medical professionals if they were concerned, or to visit either the Saxton Field or Trafalgar Centre testing sites if they were experiencing Covid-19 symptoms.

She said there had been ‘‘clear messaging’’ that Covid-19 cases would emerge around the country, and said it was likely that more positive cases would be found in Nelson and Tasman as time went on.

‘‘The contact tracing process is under way, I don’t know whether new locations of interest will be confirmed, so I would say people should keep an eye on that list.’’

She said people could trust that the tracing system was ‘‘robust’’ and said people should be wary of the rumour mill announcing new information. ‘‘I know there will be a lot of speculation at the moment ... [but] we have been well-briefed by Nelson Marlborough Health, all the systems are working as they should.’’ She also encouraged people who had not yet received the vaccine to make an appointment or drop in.

‘‘Investigations into the source of infection (are) ongoing.’’

Ministry of Health