Thirteen new locations of interest including service stations, a supermarket and a Burger King are among locations of interest after an Auckland truck driver who travelled to Palmerston North tests positive.
Photo: 123rf
The Ministry of Health announced the positive detection earlier this evening.
The case was identified in a routine surveillance test which was done in Auckland yesterday, and which returned a positive result earlier today.
The locations of interest include Countdown Three Kings in Auckland, service stations in Taupiri, Hunterville, Palmerston North and Taihape and Burger King in Rangitikei Street in Palmerston North.
The Ministry of Health advises that anyone who was at any of the locations of interest needs to stay at home, monitor for symptoms and get tested.
All the locations, plus times and dates and advice on what to do can be found here.
The Ministry said in its statement that the driver had been tested regularly, as required for essential workers travelling out of Auckland, and had previously returned a negative test result on 24 September. The person’s infectious period is determined to be from Tuesday 28 September.
As per surveillance testing protocol, essential workers who are permitted to cross Auckland’s boundaries are not required to self-isolate until they return a negative test result, as they undergo regular tests, the Ministry said.
The person is currently isolating at a facility in Palmerston North.
Auckland Regional Public Health Service has interviewed the driver. Whole genome sequencing has begun.
Two household contacts have been identified and are self-isolating.
The hours worked by the driver means their contact with other people is limited, the Ministry said.
Palmerston North testing centres open on Sunday:
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- Drive-through Community Testing Centre, 575 Main Street, 10am-8pm
- City Doctors White Cross, 22 Victoria Avenue, 8am-8pm
- The Palms Medical Centre, 445 Ferguson Street, 8am-8pm
Earlier today the Ministry of Health announced that there were 27 new community cases identified, all in Auckland. They included one person who had sought treatment at Middlemore Hospital for issues unrelated to Covid-19.
