Te Whānau o Waipareira staff deliver a drive-through Covid jab at the old Kaikohe Hotel site on Broadway. Photo / Peter de Graaf
Te Whānau o Waipareira staff deliver a drive-through Covid jab at the old Kaikohe Hotel site on Broadway. Photo / Peter de Graaf
One new case of Covid-19 was reported in Northland yesterday as a travelling ''battalion'' of health workers continued their drive to bring the vaccine to every corner of the region.
The new case comes on top of five positive tests a day earlier, which were not included in the national tally until yesterday due to the time of day they were reported.
The newly infected person is a close contact of an existing case.
The Health Ministry wouldn't say where the new case was but did reveal one new location of interest.
Anyone who was at Warehouse Stationery in Whangārei between 2.40 and 2.55pm last Thursday should get a Covid test even if they don't have symptoms.
The Ministry also repeated its plea to anyone living in or near Taipā, Kaingaroa, Awanui, Kaitaia and Kaikohe to get tested as soon as possible if they had any symptoms in the past fortnight.
Mona Lisa Maote, of Te Whānau o Waipareira, drums up interest in a vaccination drive on the old Kaikohe Hotel site yesterday. Photo / Peter de Graaf
Meanwhile, 70 staff and four mobile clinics from west Auckland-based Te Whānau o Waipareira visited Ōhaeawai, Kaikohe, Rawene and Panguru yesterday as part of the iwi-run Fight for your Whakapapa vaccination drive.
Today they are due at various locations around Kaitaia, while on Thursday they head to Kaeo, Waipapa, Waitangi and Kawakawa.
Their aim is to lift Northland's jab rate — which is creeping up but still second lowest in the country — and to take pressure off weary Northland health workers and stretched health providers.
A pop-up vaccination clinic at the old Kaikohe Hotel site saw a steady stream of people from the moment it opened around 10am yesterday, while Te Hau Ora o Ngāpuhi ran a drive-though testing station on nearby Broadway.
Waipareira staff worked hard to drum up interest by dancing on the street, waving signs, handing out spot prizes, and driving the streets with megaphones broadcasting messages such as ''don't be lax, get the vax!''.
Joshua Valach hoped getting the jab would slow Covid's spread in Northland. Photo / Peter de Graaf
Among those making the most of the chance was Joshua Valach, of Kerikeri, who got the jab along with his son.
They hoped to help stop the spread of the virus now it was in the Far North.
''Plus I heard we won't be able to go to events without it ... I wasn't too concerned but my partner and son were adamant to get the jab. They don't want to get the virus, or anyone they love to get it.''
James Ashby of Kaikohe gets his second jab at pop-up clinic run by Te Whānau o Waipareira at the old Kaikohe Hotel site. Photo / Peter de Graaf
James Ashby, of Kaikohe, was lining up for his second dose.
''I'm doing it to keep everyone safe. My whānau, my community, and myself,'' he said.
Jacqui Harema, of Te Whānau o Waipareira, said the week-long Northland campaign was a koha (gift) to the North aiming to protect whakapapa.
It also acknowledged the organisation's Ngāpuhi founders. Most of the staff taking part — up to 90 per cent — were also Ngāpuhi, she said.
They had been welcomed by Northland health providers, which were glad for the reprieve, but some people questioned why they had come up from Auckland.
That changed once staff explained their whakapapa, Harema said.
Fight for your Whakapapa is a vaccination strategy by Māori, for Māori, which brings together Whanau Ora Commissioning Agency, Te Whānau o Waipareira and a raft of Northland health providers.
Meanwhile, the Health Ministry said all Northland's 21 active cases were isolating at home as of yesterday. Six have fully recovered.
A 6-week-old baby had been discharged from Whangārei Hospital and a previously reported case admitted for observation on Monday night had returned to self-isolation at home.
Also yesterday the number of Northlanders who had received a first dose climbed above 81 per cent while 69 per cent were fully vaccinated.
The top half of the Far North was plunged back into level 3 last week amid concerns about two new cases at Kaingaroa, between Taipā and Awanui, with no known connection to existing clusters.
Since then infection numbers have continued to inch upwards but wastewater testing has provided no evidence of undetected community spread.
The alert level boundary passes through Hokianga Harbour, Mangamuka Junction and Kāeo Bridge.
From 11.59pm on Thursday upper Northland will return to alert level 2.
