It was “highly possible” Hauraki could be included in Auckland and Coromandel’s seven-day lockdown – even without Woodturners Cafe as a location of interest, Hauraki District Mayor Toby Adams says.
However, that has not been confirmed as of yet.
“There was always a possibility that further parts of the country would go into a longer lockdown, because I’m sure the places the one man has been had people from all over New Zealand visit from some point over that time period, and as we know now, there are four other cases confirmed as the Delta [variant], and we know Delta can basically jump across a room in three seconds,” he said.
“But the word at this stage that I have from officials is that the Hauraki district is not defined yet as the Coromandel Peninsula, but they’re still working on what those boundaries are.”
Mayor Adams said people should keep in mind that three days could be an initial lockdown period, and in the meantime, there was no need to panic.
“I understand that it is the unknown again – but this time, it’s really not that unknown. We knew what it was like last time, we’ve spent some time in lockdown, and we understood that supermarkets restock and that we can get by. There’s enough toilet paper to go around for everybody,” he said.
“So don’t panic, act normal, shop like normal, eat like normal, drink like normal, and if you do need to go out, whether it’s to a pharmacy or a service station, use the tracer app and let everyone know where you’ve been.”
Mayor Adams said as a whole, the Hauraki district had been good with logging their locations using the Covid-19 app, though it was a timely reminder for those who had become a bit complacent, to “step it back up a notch”.
“If the guy from Devonport hadn’t used his tracer app the way he did, we wouldn’t know all of these places so soon.”
Mayor Adams said he would be providing the public “with up to date facts as I have them” through his personal and council Facebook accounts.
“It’s just to make sure people are aware just like anybody else, rather than them having to keep scrolling through the Herald for updates.”
By KELLEY TANTAU
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:
Health officials are investigating an outbreak of the Covid-19 Delta variant in the community, prompting the government to put the Coromandel Peninsula into an Alert Level 4 lockdown from Tuesday night.
The Coromandel Peninsula and Auckland will be in this level for seven days, the rest of the country will be in it for three days, at least, and people away from home will have 48 hours to return.
Four new community cases have been reported overnight, including an Auckland hospital worker, all linked to a 58-year-old man from Devonport, Auckland, who developed Covid-19 after visiting Coromandel township with his wife on August 13-15.
His wife, who has received two doses of the vaccine, returned a negative Covid-19 test.
On their way home from Coromandel Town, the couple stopped in at Woodturners Cafe on State Highway 2, Mangatarata, just west of Ngatea, on Sunday, August 15 from 12.40pm to 1.25pm.
LOCATIONS OF INTEREST
Woodturners has been listed as one of 13 Hauraki-Coromandel locations of interest by the Ministry of Health, which means anyone who has visited any of the locations of interest is required by the Ministry of Health to self-isolate at home and call Healthline on 0800 358 5453 for advice.
Locations of interest that have been confirmed are listed on the Ministry of Health website: www.health.govt.nz.
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The Star and Garter Hotel, 5 Kapanga Rd, Coromandel, on August 13 from 6.39pm-7.40pm
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Umu Cafe, 22 Wharf Rd, Coromandel, on August 13 from 7.40pm-8.30pm
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BP gas station, Tiki Rd, Coromandel, on August 14 from 9.30am-9.40am
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Driving Creek Railway Tours, 380 Driving Creek Rd, Coromandel, on August 14 from 10.30am-10.50am
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Jaks Cafe & Bar, 104 Kapanga Rd, Coromandel, on August 14 from 10.50am-11.30am
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Hereford ‘n’ a Pickle, 2318 Colville Rd, Coromandel, on August 14 from 1.25pm-2.15pm
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Taras Beads, 1/75 Kapanga Rd, Coromandel, on August 15 from 3pm-3.10pm
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Richardsons Real Estate Coromandel, 151 Kapanga Rd, Coromandel, on August 14 from 3.30pm-3.35pm
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Umu Cafe, 22 Wharf Rd, Coromandel, on August 14 from 6.17pm-7.11pm
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Star and Garter Hotel, 5 Kapanga Rd, Coromandel, on August 14 from 7.11pm-9pm
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Umu Cafe, 22 Wharf Road, Coromandel, on August from 15 10.14am-11.10 am
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Taras Beads, 1/75 Kapanga Road, Coromandel, on August 15 from 10am-10.05am
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Woodturner Cafe, State Highway 2, Thames, on August 15 from 12.40 pm-1.25pm
ALERT LEVEL 4
For information about what Alert Level 4 means, go to: covid9.govt.nz/alert-levels-and-updates/alert-level-4.
VACCINATIONS
Vaccinations have been put on hold for a few days and vaccination centres are closed. Those who had a vaccination booked for August 18-19, will have been contacted by the Covid Vaccination Healthline to say their vaccination will not go ahead, and to rebook their appointment towards the end of August. Vaccinations can be booked online at bookmyvaccine.nz or Ph 0800 28 29 26.
