An aged residential care worker associated with an infected family from Nelson has tested positive for Covid-19.
The worker is employed at Summerset by the Park Rest Home near Barry Curtis Park in Flat Bush.
Nine Covid-19 cases were reported on Saturday in the Nelson/Tasman region. They have now been confirmed as the Omicron variant, and a further case from the same household was confirmed late Saturday.
The aged residential care worker worker in Flat Bush is fully vaccinated and Whole Genome Sequencing is being carried out however the Ministry of Health is treating this as a contact of a known Omicron case.
The rest home is now closed to visitors and testing is being carried out on residents and staff.
The Ministry of Health said anyone who has visited the rest home since Tuesday January 18 and has symptoms of Covid-19 is asked to isolate and get a test as soon as possible.
This cluster has already led to an additional infection of a fully vaccinated Air New Zealand flight attendant who was infected on flight 5083 on January 16 from Auckland to Nelson which the family was on. That flight attendant has worked four additional flights while infectious.
The five flights are:
- Flight NZ 5083 from Auckland to Nelson at 5.20 pm on 16 January
- Flight NZ 5080 from Nelson to Auckland at 4 pm on 19 January
- Flight NZ 5077 from Auckland to Nelson at 2pm on 19 January
- Flight NZ 5049 from Auckland to New Plymouth at 7.50 pm on 19 January
- Flight NZ 5042 from New Plymouth to Auckland at 1.50 pm on 20 January
The Ministry of Health was informed late Saturday of a further case who was a guest at the family event. Whole genome sequencing is urgently being carried out but they are treating this as the Omicron variant.
