Coronavirus: Worker at Auckland Māori health service infected

Their building is located to a number of schools impacted.
Their building is located to a number of schools impacted. Photo credit: Google Maps.

A worker at Hapai Te Hauora, Auckland's Māori public health service, has been diagnosed with COVID-19.

The "non-clinical, non-client facing" health service confirmed the case to Newshub in a statement. 

"Auckland Regional Public Health Services (ARPHS) has identified the person’s close contacts, and these people have already been contacted and advised to get tested and to self-isolate for a full 14 days," the statement said.

"The person, and their household members, have acted to protect the community with testing and self-isolation, and will remain in isolation until cleared by public health."

The risk to other workers who have not been identified as close contacts is "very low". That's also the case for employees who work for other organisations in the same building.

Hapai Te Hauora is located in Henderson, just south of St Dominic's Catholic College, which on Tuesday was informed that a student had tested positive for the virus. Another school close by, Henderson Normal School, has a student that is a close contact.

Health Minister Chris Hipkins revealed on Wednesday that some close contacts of the Mt Roskill Evangelical Fellowship church had not previously been disclosed.

The St Dominic's Catholic College case has been linked to the sub-cluster that has now emerged around the church.

"We did identify yesterday, in the cluster of cases announced, that there were a couple of cases that had not been previously identified... it would appear that somewhere along the way, someone has not fully disclosed all of their contacts," Hipkins said.

"Obviously this is information we'd have liked to see sooner and we may have had fewer infections as a result had we known about the chain of connection."

Hapai has held the regional Māori public health contract for Tāmaki Makaurau for 20 years.

It says it delivers policy, advocacy, research and leadership services across Aotearoa.