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No new cases of Covid-19 have been reported in the community today, following Auckland’s move to alert level 2, and the rest of the country returned to level 1.
The good news will bring relief to many, but especially those in a southern Auckland suburb.
On Sunday it was revealed that one of the three confirmed community cases is attending Papatoetoe High School.
Yesterday, two more students at the school were confirmed to have Covid-19. Despite that, director Vaughan Couillault said he wasn’t anxious.
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“Yesterday I thought of crikey, but then we did a lot of number calculations, trying to figure out who the possible new close contacts might be. But then as the day wore on, and we calculated what the infectious period was, we realized that that circle wasn’t growing from the school’s perspective, “Couillault said.
I could see the light at the end of the tunnel.
“Yesterday we went from anything could happen, to a little calmer. Alert levels dropped, right? So in terms of work done, it’s not quite done, but we are certainly reaching the end of the forest,” he said.
Liu Chen / RNZ
A pop-up testing center at Papatoetoe High School.
The school’s testing center was relatively quiet throughout the day, but many of those who were tested were family members of students.
“My son is a student at Papatoetoe High School and I work at another school, so I came to take an exam so that when I go back to school on Monday I can show them that I got a negative result and I can safely go back to work,” he said. a man.
Another woman’s daughter also attends school. He said the new cases are concerning, but it is important that people get tested.
“I am concerned, yes, but it is our responsibility, our nation’s responsibility to everyone,” he said.
The mother of another student said that while she has no concerns, she followed the advice to get a swab.
“My son’s test came back negative, so that’s really good for our family, but we have been informed that we have to come and get tested,” the woman said.
Surprisingly busy test station
One of the busiest Covid-19 testing centers during the current outbreak has been in the parking lot behind the city center of Ōtara.
Ōtara is only a few kilometers from Papatoetoe, and a metro there had been visited by a positive case.
South Seas Healthcare CEO Silao Vaisola Sefo runs the test station.
He said that despite the alert level change, the station was surprisingly busy.
“There is still some anxiety in the community, so I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, but it shows that the community responds really well,” Sefo said.
In just four hours on Thursday, 350 cars had passed through the test station, an increase from the previous day when 322 cars went through tests throughout the day, he said.
Rowan Quinn / RNZ
A Covid-19 testing center in Ōtara remained busy despite Auckland’s move to alert level 2.
A local man was in line to get a swab after following the health advice.
“We are testing because we went to a place of interest, so I haven’t been to work all week,” he said.
He added that it is important for people to get tested for both the people of South Auckland and the rest of New Zealand.
“It’s back up, so I guess this is just removing it and making sure everyone is doing their part,” he said.
Another man said the country has been through this before so we can do it again.
“We have this, New Zealand,” he yelled.
Papatoetoe High School will be closed for the remainder of the week. Staff, students, and their families must isolate themselves at home until Monday and not return to school without a negative test.
