Covid 19 Delta outbreak: All eight Waikato cases today are from the Te Awamutu area

Director-general of health Dr Ashley Bloomfield has said they'd like to see higher testing numbers in and around Te Awamutu. Photo / Dean Taylor.

All eight of the new Covid-19 community cases today are from the Te Awamutu area.
Seven are in Te Awamutu and one is in Kihikihi.

One of the cases has not yet been linked to the outbreak and health officials expect to speak with the remaining case today.

There are now a total of 17 Covid-19 community cases in the Te Awamutu area.
Director-general of health Dr Ashley Bloomfield said today that the Waikato DHB is continuing to test around the region and there were 3000 swabs taken yesterday.

"However, we'd like to see higher testing numbers in and around Te Awamutu," says Bloomfield.

A pop-up Covid-19 testing station is at the Te Awamutu Events Centre today until 4.30pm and tomorrow from 10am to 4.30pm.

One of the cases undertook permitted travel to Napier last Friday before they became a confirmed case said Bloomfield.

They only returned a positive case once they were back in the Waikato and they are now isolation at home.

Bloomfield said that the infectious period included the time they travelled to Hawkes Bay and that two close contacts have been identified. Both have returned negative tests but are also isolating.

"I'd like to reiterate there are no positive Covid-19 cases in the Hawkes Bay," says Bloomfield.

A decision on Waikato's alert level settings will be announced tomorrow.

Te Awamutu locations of interest

Another supermarket has been added to the list of locations of interest in Te Awamutu.

Countdown Te Awamutu: 180 Sloane St. Friday, October 15 between 5.45pm and 7.55pm.

Fresh Choice Te Awamutu: 39 Rewi St. Friday October 15 between 12.15pm and 12.30pm and Tuesday, October 12 between 6.30pm and 7.30pm.

College Superette Te Awamutu: 943 Alexandra St. Wednesday, October 13 between 12.30pm and 1.30pm and Tuesday, October 12 between 12.30pm and 1.30pm.

If you visited one of these locations of interest on the day and time stated, the advice from health officials is to 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.