A new community case of Covid-19 has been confirmed in Taranaki, this time in Eltham, near Hāwera.
The Taranaki District Health Board announced the case in a media release late Saturday evening.
At this stage, the case is not linked to any of the previously reported cases in New Plymouth or Waitara, the DHB said.
The new case is currently isolating at home and case investigation work is underway to identify any close contacts and locations of interest.
The DHB said high risk locations will be shared on the Ministry of Health’s website as soon as available.
“Taranaki health service providers will be standing up a public clinic for easy access to testing for the Eltham community on Sunday at Eltham Kohanga Reo, 24 York Street from 10am – 3pm," Taranaki DHB’s Covid-19 incident controller, Becky Jenkins said.
Jenkins said the best way to determine if there is community transmission in Eltham or wider areas is to increase testing.
"We encourage anyone who has symptoms, no matter how mild, to please get tested as soon as possible.”
Covid-19 testing will be available at the following locations on Sunday:
- Eltham Kohanga Reo, 24 York Street, 10am – 3pm (run by Ngāruahine)
- Eltham Main Road, 9am – 1pm (saliva testing run by Ngāti Ruanui)
- Hāwera Hospital testing centre, 10am – 1pm
- Taranaki Base Hospital testing centre, 9am – 3pm
Source / Ngāruahine Facebook page
The DHB said it will advise of any additional pop-up clinic locations, including Stratford, over the next few days as more information becomes available.