Covid-19 Delta outbreak: Northland clings to level 2 status as seven cases confirmed

The Covid vaccination centre at Whangārei's Semenoff Stadium is open this week for an expected surge in demand with seven positive cases in Northland. Photo / Michael Cunningham

Locations of interest related to Northland's seven linked Covid-19 cases:

■ Kaihu, GAS Kaihu, 2906 State Highway 12, Sunday, October 17, 4.15pm - 4.30pm.

■ Kaikohe, Countdown, 37 Station Rd, Tuesday, October 19, 4.15pm - 5.30pm.

■ Kaikohe, Mobil, 19 Broadway, Tuesday, October 19, 5.15pm - 5.45pm.

■ Kaikohe, The Warehouse, 17 Station Rd, Friday, October 22, 11.30am - 12.15pm.

■ Kaikohe, Z Kaikohe, Friday, October 22, 1pm - 1.30pm.

■ Kaitaia, The Warehouse, 2 North Park Dr, Wednesday, October 20, 10.45am - 11.05am.

■ Kaitaia, Hunting and Fishing, 11 North Park Drive, Wednesday, October 20, 11am - 11.30am.

■ Rawene, Boatshed Cafe, 8 Clendon Esplanade, Friday, October 22, 10am - 10.30am.

■ Mangamuka Dairy, 4142 State Highway 1, Monday, October 18, 4.30pm - 5pm.

■ Omapere Foodmart, 342 State Highway 12, Thursday, October 21, 3.30pm - 3.45pm.

If you were at any of these places at the relevant times you should:

Self-monitor for Covid-19 symptoms for 14 days after you were exposed at this location of interest. If symptoms develop, get a test and stay at home until you get a negative test result and until 24 hours after symptoms resolve.

Northland has seven confirmed Covid-19 cases but all are linked and isolating, meaning the region is sticking to its alert level 2 status.

There are 10 locations of interest related to the cases and health officials are urging Northlanders to get vaccinated and tested to ensure the outbreak is not more widespread.

More testing stations have been added across the region. For a full list of testing and vaccination centres around Northland, go to www.northlanddhb.org.nz/home/covid-19.

Yesterday, the Ministry of Health reported two new expected and linked cases of Covid-19 in Northland who were in isolation throughout their infectious period.

With 11 locations of interest across Northland confirmed so far, people living in Northland are asked to regularly monitor the Ministry of Health's website, www.health.govt.nz.

The cases are linked to Mangamuka mum Rosalina Puhi, who outed herself as the first of the cases, saying she was nervous about the response she'd get when she decided to reveal to her rural Far North community that it was she and her daughter who had tested positive for Covid-19.

"I was ready to defend myself," she told NZME, explaining that even though she did everything right she was afraid there might be a stigma attached to the diagnosis.

Instead, though, the community has rallied around her family. She, in turn, has tried to support them by answering questions on social media from people who might not have had the confidence to ask had she not shared her story.

The Ministry of Health said as standard protocol, locations of interest are deep-cleaned to ensure there is no ongoing risk of transmission from the premise.

''As an additional precaution, we recommend that everyone wears face coverings in public areas, washes their hands regularly, and regularly uses the NZ COVID Tracer app to keep track of everywhere they go, and get vaccinated if they haven't already,'' The Ministry said.

On Monday there were 633 swabs taken across Northland and 333 vaccinations administered across the region – of these, 216 were first doses, while a further 117 were second doses.

Of Northland's eligible 161,320 population, 62 per cent have received both vaccinations, further 16 per cent have had one jab and 22 per cent have yet to get a jab.