The staff member worked a shift on a ward at Wellington Regional Hospital before testing positive – however they did not have symptoms, wore a mask, and followed all of our usual safety precautions. A number of other staff from the ward attended the same event and are currently under symptom watch.
We are confident that the risk of infection to patients and others on the ward is very low. Our infection prevention & control team has identified patients as casual – not close – contacts. We are therefore monitoring patients for symptoms and will test relevant patients over the coming days.
As a precaution, we have closed the ward to visitors – unless by special arrangement – over the coming days. Anyone who visited before the ward closed need not be alarmed – they will have worn a mask, and the risk of exposure is extremely low. However, they should be alert for COVID-19 symptoms get tested if they have any. Information about COVID-19 and its symptoms is publicly available on the Ministry of Health website.
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