Northland news briefs: Five new Covid cases, beach rescue and road closure

Lifeguards at Ocean Beach, at Whāngarei Heads, had a busy Sunday. Photo / NZME

It was a busy holiday weekend Sunday for surf lifeguards at some Northland beaches.
Lifeguards at Ocean Beach, at Whāngarei Heads, rescued a 16-year-old male swimmer caught in a hole who was brought to shore in an IRB. The club also helped 8-year-old boogie boarders caught in a rip. Lifeguards pushed them onto waves so they could return to shore. Guards at a number of beaches treated multiple minor injuries, including Waipū Cove and Red Beach.

Van crash
A van towing a trailer went into a ditch near Waiotu Block Rd, Hukerenui, shortly before 3pm, briefly disrupting traffic on SH1 north of Whangārei on Monday while the van was extracted from the ditch. No injuries were reported.

Yesterday's Covid cases
Five new Covid cases were recorded in Northland yesterday. Three of the cases were based in Kerikeri two of these were linked to Omicron and only one had been in isolation prior to testing positive. The fourth was in the Bay of Islands - linked to Omicron. The fifth was a person with Delta in Whangārei. There were 21 active cases in Northland from a total number of 135 confirmed cases, none of whom were in hospital. There were 126 new community cases recorded across the country. The health board said there had been one new wastewater notification in Rawene.

Marae on the list
Wainui Marae, near Kāeo in the Far North, has been classed as a high-risk location of interest despite whole genome sequencing being unable to confirm the variant. Anyone who attended the marae from 11am on January 21 to 3pm on January 23 is asked to self-isolate, get tested immediately and again on day five after the exposure. Five new Northland locations of interest were announced yesterday. A full list of locations of interest is on the Ministry of Health website.

Field Days cancelled
The Northland Field Days, New Zealand's second-largest agriculture exhibition, scheduled for March 3-5, has been cancelled because of Covid-related uncertainty. "This decision was certainly not made lightly but we simply can't have exhibitors, suppliers and all the volunteers involved waiting to see what happens with Omicron," the planning committee said. It's the second year that the Field Days in Dargaville has been cancelled.

Road works to close road
Parts of Cove Rd will be closed from 7am today until 6pm tomorrow for the pavement and surfacing works on bridge approaches. Access for residents will be available.
A detour will be in place through Mangawhai via Molesworth Drive and Moir St, leading back to Cove Rd.

CORRECTION:
In a story in the Northern Advocate yesterday, "Northland iwi chairs support online Waitangi experience" it was stated at the end of the story that: A three-day programme of Waitangi Day events will go ahead at Te Tii Marae but with Covid-19 precautions in place.
This is incorrect as all events at the marae have been cancelled. A marae spokesperson said they do not want any groups going to Te Tii Marae over the Waitangi weekend.