Sporadic cases of COVID-19 throughout Taranaki

27 March 2020

Two new people with confirmed COVID-19 have been identified in South Taranaki today, taking the total to seven confirmed cases and one probable for the region.

Taranaki’s medical officer of health, Dr Jonathan Jarman says “A 17 year old female and a 51 year old male are the latest people to test positive for the virus in the last 24 hours. The 17 year old has recently returned from overseas travel and the 51 year old is a close contact who we believe contracted the virus from the 17 year old. Both people are in self isolation.”

“These are unprecedented times for New Zealand and even though we don’t have a pandemic in our country, there are now sporadic cases in many parts of New Zealand, including North and South Taranaki.

“We will expect the number of cases to increase for at least the next ten days. All the cases so far in Taranaki have been travel related or belong to families of people who have recently returned from overseas.

“We need to get on top of this by all doing our bit and breaking the chain of transmission and slowing the spread of COVID-19. This is a really important time for everyone in Taranaki and the nation as a whole to ensure we’re abiding with the Government guidelines and staying home to keep ourselves and whānau safe,” says Dr Jarman.

For travel and flight details relating to this person please refer to the Ministry of Health’s (MoH) website https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/diseases-and-conditions/covid-19-novel-coronavirus/covid-19-current-cases

ADVICE ON COVID-19 SYMPTOMS

To minimise the spread of this new virus our advice remains the same: cover coughs and sneezes, wash and dry your hands thoroughly especially after coughing or sneezing, and stay at home if you are sick.

If you are experiencing symptoms please call the dedicated healthline number - 0800 358 5453 or ring ahead to your GP. They will direct you for testing or treatment if necessary.

For more health information please visit the MoH website www.health.govt.nz 
For more public-focused all-of-government information please visit https://covid19.govt.nz/ 

 

Last updated: Friday, March 27, 2020