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A person working at Auckland’s Maori public health unit, Hapai Te Hauora, tested positive for Covid-19.
A Ritchies bus driver also tested positive for the virus, Chief Health Officer Ashley Bloomfield confirmed at today’s 1pm press conference.
The Auckland Regional Public Health Service confirmed today that a person in Hapai is now a confirmed case.
The public health service yesterday sent a letter to everyone in the Whanau Center building in downtown Henderson, where the infected person works.
The service said it had worked with the Covid-positive person in the Auckland West office and colleagues in the health unit to identify close contacts.
The person at the center of the health problem was now isolated along with their home, with the risk to everyone else in the building described as “very low.”
All those considered a close contact have been contacted by health authorities and told to isolate themselves for 14 days.
Those who work in the same high-rise building on Pioneer St are also told that while there is a confirmed case, they are unlikely to become ill without a close contact.
The letter to office workers across the site cautions that since there are current cases in the community, it is still important to watch for signs of the virus.
The building contains a number of vital community health services including a dentist, pharmacy, Covid testing site, addiction support, and cancer care service.
Unichem Waiora Pharmacy remained open and serves customers today.
Hapai Te Hauora issued a statement confirming that an employee and family members were isolated and would remain so until cleared by public health.
The risk to other Hāpai Te Hauora staff members not identified as close contacts, and to those employees working for other organizations in the same building, was considered very low, the organization said.
It occurs when a West Auckland university is closed and parents with children in nearby schools are asked to keep their children at home if there are siblings attending St Dominic’s Catholic College after a senior tested positive .
Another student from nearby Henderson North School is in self-isolation and has been tested, but is still doing well and it is highly unlikely that he was contagious the last time he was at school.
The cases are linked to the church subgroup Mt Roskill Evangelical Fellowship which has risen to 37 positive cases this week.
Today, Health Minister Chris Hipkins revealed that some close contacts from the Mt Roskill church subgroup had not previously been disclosed, including the student who recently tested positive.
In this case, it seemed like it was a close contact from the subgroup that hadn’t been previously disclosed.
Authorities were now investigating whether that was on purpose.
“That’s one of the things the investigation is looking at right now and it will include seeing if there was a deliberate decision not to disclose, or if it was just an oversight,” Hipkins said.
Hapai is a non-clinical, non-client-oriented public health service and provides policy, advocacy, research and leadership services at Aotearoa.
The organization has held the Maori regional public health contract for Tāmaki Makaurau for 20 years, providing a strategic approach for communities to enjoy good health and stay in healthy environments.
The person and members of their household were to remain in isolation and self-isolation until they were cleared by public health, a spokesperson said.
The risk to other unidentified Hāpai Te Hauora staff as close contacts and employees working for other organizations in the same building was considered very low.
