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Waikato DHB COVID-19 Update – Locations Of Interest
Following confirmation of a COVID-19 case in Waikato on Sunday, Public Health staff have been working closely with all affected individuals to identify any exposure events, provide guidance to any confirmed contacts and respond to new cases.
As of Thursday there were 22 cases confirmed in the Waikato - 10 in Hamilton, 10 in Raglan, one in Karapiro and one in Kawhia. The DHB had provided tests for close to 20,000 people since Sunday.
Executive Director Hospital and Community Services, Chris Lowry, said the Public Health team had been in immediate contact with every new case and through those interviews had so far had been able to establish a clear point of exposure for each.
Ms Lowry, who is Incident Controller for the COVID-19 response, said a number of Raglan locations of interest had been identified early on but none for Hamilton, which appeared to cause some concern in the community.
“Exposure events for those initial cases in Hamilton could be traced to contact between individuals, generally in a residential or workplace setting, and public health staff were able to follow up with individuals directly.”
The DHB is also closely linked to the Ministry of Health around providing up to date information on cases and locations of interest, however Ms Lowry said locations of interest were just one way of categorising and responding to potential contacts with COVID-19 cases.
“To provide some further context, through their interviews the Public Health team have identified 60 exposure events (where people have had contact with a known case) across range of settings and there are 184 people who have been identified as contacts and are now in self-isolation or quarantine.”
The focus of publishing locations of interest is generally on locations where contact tracers do not have a good idea of who was there at the relevant time, like bars and supermarkets.
Several Hamilton locations of interest have now been announced in connection with newly confirmed cases and this list is expected to grow as the DHB continues investigations with new cases.
Ms Lowry said it was important the community understood the function of Public Health and continued to engage with health officials.
“For the Public Health response to work we need to build trust and understanding with all parts of our community, including those where this may have waned in the past. This is a fundamental enabler for our response to be effective.”
Social media bullying
The DHB is aware of social media posts targeting some families and individuals in relation to this latest resurgence of COVID-19.
Ms Lowry said it was important that people were not punished when they did the right thing by seeking a test or engaging with Public Health to identify exposure events and help protect our community.
“We need everyone to feel comfortable they can seek a test, without fear of being targeted or harassed. Everyone who gets a test has our gratitude for doing their part.”
Waikato District Health Board
Healthy People. Excellent Care
Waikato District Health Board (DHB) employs over 6500 people and plans, funds and provides hospital and health services to more than 391,770 people in a region covering eight per cent of New Zealand.
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