Covid 19 coronavirus Delta outbreak: St Margaret's rest home tests negative

CHT St Margaret's Home and Hospital in West Auckland. Photo / Dean Purcell

The first round of Covid tests for St Margaret's Hospital and Home has come back negative, says chief executive Carriann Hall.

She said all 19 residents at the home's dementia unit have tested negative so far, "a very reassuring result for those residents and their families".

A second test for these residents will take place as directed by Auckland Regional Public Health Service (ARPHS).

This comes after a staff member at the West Auckland rest home's dementia unit tested positive on Wednesday.

The employee was a household contact of a confirmed case, had received a first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine and was already in precautionary self-isolation before taking a Covid test.

Voluntary tests by other hospital residents on Thursday also came back negative.

ARPHS has said that further testing for hospital residents is not necessary at this stage.

Residents are being monitored for symptoms twice daily and temperature checks continue as per the home's alert level 4 protocol.

Hall says all staff are wearing appropriate PPE and dementia unit staff are in full PPE which includes N95 mask, gown and gloves.

She added that the home's PPE stocks levels and staff rosters are stable.

"We are very thankful for the commitment and extra miles that our team is going to at the moment."

At least three elderly residents at the hospital and rest home died in the March 2020 outbreak when 51 people contracted the virus in the St Margaret's cluster, including Waitakere Hospital nurses who treated sick elderly patients transferred into their care.

Hall said the resident families and Te Atatu community have been sending messages of support, understanding and encouragement which are keeping their spirits up while they face Covid-19 a second time.