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Two health workers from the Waitematā District Health Board contracted Covid-19.
In a statement, the DHB said both staff members are believed to be linked to the Mt Roskill subgroup and did not contract Covid-19 at work.
It’s a reminder that healthcare workers face “double exposure” from contracting the coronavirus at work and in the community, said University of Otago professor of public health Michael Baker.
One of the positive cases was on leave before he became infectious and has not returned to work since, the DHB said.
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The other has been out of work since the end of last month and is part of a “no-patient team” whose other members have since been screened and all have tested negative.
LAWRENCE SMITH / Things
North Shore Hospital in Auckland.
The statement said that Waitematā DHB, whose district includes North Shore and Waitākere Hospitals in Auckland, is in close contact with the workers and wishes them a speedy recovery.
A total of seventeen employees who had contact with one or both workers prior to their diagnosis were removed early last week as a precaution. Since then, they have all tested negative for Covid-19.
“These personnel will remain isolated awaiting a second swab around day 12 from the date of their possible exposure. If they have two negative tests and remain asymptomatic after the 14th, they will be allowed to return to work, ”the statement said.
“Waitematā DHB has strong processes in place to address these types of scenarios and ensures the public that our hospitals are safe.”
In May, the DHB apologized after an investigation found that nurses who contracted coronavirus at work had to change their PPE eight times per shift.
Seven nurses from Waitākere Hospital and at least three close contacts contracted Covid-19 after residents of St Margaret’s Hospital and Rest Home, one of the largest conglomerates in the country, were transferred there.
A major incident review by DHB found that while all personal protective equipment was available to staff at all times, some gowns and goggles were deficient, causing additional stress for staff.
In response to the review, Waitematā DHB Deputy Executive Director Andrew Brant said he was “deeply sorry.”
Supplied
Professor Michael Baker says that the government must shift from a reactive to a strategic approach to controlling Covid-19.
Professor Baker said that healthcare workers around the world had borne a high cost from the virus, both in terms of infections and deaths.
“The health system is a large employer, so only by chance would we expect health workers to become infected in the community, they have twice the risk of exposure.”
On Saturday, there were two new community transmission cases related to existing cases, including a student from Sunnyvale School in West Auckland.
The student was not contagious the last time he attended the school, which remains open. No close contacts have been identified within the school community.
MELANIE EARLEY / Stuff
Protesters marched down Queen St in Auckland on Saturday asking people in the street to “join them”.
More than 1,000 protesters, many without masks, gathered in Auckland’s Aotea Square on Saturday to protest the lockdown restrictions.
New Zealand’s advanced party leaders Billy Te Kahika and Jami-Lee Ross joined the protesters, who voiced disapproval on a wide range of issues, including blocking Covid-19, 5G, vaccines, and the TPPA.
The cabinet is expected to meet Monday to decide whether to ease restrictions.
Baker said it would be a few weeks before public health officials could be sure there were no undetected community groups in Auckland. He hopes Auckland will have to stay at level 2.5 until then, but the rest of the country could switch to 1.5 sooner.
“You have to be patient when you head towards elimination. It takes time to stop the virus. “
The government applied the lessons learned from the first outbreak to manage the last one more effectively, he said.
“The big difference this time is that we know a lot more about the virus and we are using the tools in a much more specific way. Mass testing, contact tracing, use of masks and a regionally targeted approach.
David White / Stuff
After months of prodding from Michael Baker and other public health officials, the government made wearing masks mandatory in some situations. (FILE PHOTO)
“This is good news for eradicating the virus and causing minimal disruption to people’s lives.”
He still wants to see the alert system adjusted to introduce a level 1.5 and for the restrictions at level 2.5 to be clearer.
“If you are trying to avoid crashes at level 3 and 4, you need a fully developed 2.5.”
Baker has also encouraged the government to move from a reactive to a more strategic approach to fighting the virus in the long term.
This included the establishment of a public health agency and scientific council to integrate all health councils, invest more money in research and development, and conduct official research after the elections.
“We have to keep reminding ourselves that in a few years this pandemic will end, but we will need to have the infrastructure to face the next one.”
Last Friday, Auckland Americold employee Alan Te Hiko, 58, died at Middlemore Hospital, the youngest of 24 New Zealanders to die from the disease.
His brother is understood to remain in an induced coma at Waikato Hospital.
