Covid 19 case confirmed at Auckland rest home, doors closed to visitors

A Covid-19 case has been confirmed at an Auckland care centre.

Summerset Village manager Brian Gabolinscy confirmed in an email that a case had been detected in the group's Manukau care centre.

"The resident is not currently in the care centre. The District Health Board (DHB) has been notified and have endorsed the measures in place to monitor residents and staff for Covid-19."

This comes as 1901 new Covid-19 cases were recorded in the community, bringing the total number of active community cases to 11,601.

Gabolinscy said all staff were being tested with rapid antigen tests (RATs) prior to coming on shift and residents were being monitored closely for symptoms and tested daily using RATs.

"The care centre is closed to visitors given the vulnerability of residents living there, unless for compassionate reasons. Our residents are isolated in their rooms and staff are ensuring their essential needs are being met as well as assisting to maintain contact with loved ones as required."

He said care centre staff will contact residents' nominated representatives if there is anything they need to know regarding the welfare of a resident.

"We understand you will be anxious about your loved ones, but please be reassured there is a very high rate of vaccination in the care centre and village. We have excellent infection control practices in place and our fully vaccinated staff are following the advice of the local DHB and Public Health.

"Our staff are working with infection prevention measures and using full personal protective equipment (PPE)."

He urged people to contact their loved ones if they have a phone in their room and asked residents to continue with current precautionary measures.

These included wearing a mask when leaving the house and staying at home aside from essential trips if you're not vaccinated.

"We are working with the District Health Board and Public Health Unit to provide them with the information they need for their contact tracing team to establish any contact between the positive case(s) and other residents or staff."