18 Apr 2020

Whanganui person tests positive for Covid-19 with no clear link to its source

9:17 pm on 18 April 2020

One young person in Whanganui has tested positive for coronavirus without a clear link to the source of the infection.

LAKE SUCCESS, NY - MARCH 11: A lab technician begins semi-automated testing for COVID-19 at Northwell Health Labs on March 11, 2020 in Lake Success, New York.

Photo: AFP

The person in their 20s has not travelled overseas, and does not have any known links to the region's other seven cases, who have all recovered.

The Whanganui District Health Board said it is still investigating how the person got the virus.

The Medical Officer of Health Dr Patrick O'Connor said in a statement that the person's household members have been tested.

The DHB says the case shows the country must be as vigilant as ever.

Earlier this week, Director General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield said that the Whanganui region had a lower than average rate of testing for Covid-19 and he encouraged all district health boards to have a low threshold for testing, and to test anyone "with respiratory symptoms, whether upper respiratory, which could just be a sore throat or runny nose".

  • If you have symptoms of the coronavirus, call the NZ Covid-19 Healthline on 0800 358 5453 (+64 9 358 5453 for international SIMs) or call your GP - don't show up at a medical centre