A five-month-old baby and the child's parent are among three people who presented to Middlemore Hospital in recent days who have tested positive for Covid-19, the Ministry of Health confirmed in a statement late Saturday night.
Kidz First
The parent and baby arrived at Middlemore Hospital’s Kidz First Emergency Department on Friday afternoon.
The ministry said the parent answered negative to screening contact questions - indicating they had no exposure to Covid-19 and had not been at a location of interest. However, the child was identified as being symptomatic by clinical staff in triage.
As a hospital admission for the presentation was not required, the ministry said the parent and child were discharged and advised to isolate at home.
All staff were wearing the appropriate PPE, including N95 masks and goggles. For this reason, no staff members are required to stand down, the ministry said.
Birthing and Assessment Unit
Saturday afternoon, Counties Manukau DHB was notified that a woman who had been in its care underwent Covid-testing and returned a positive result after developing symptoms post-discharge.
The woman presented to and was discharged from Middlemore Hospital’s Birthing and Assessment Unit on Wednesday following a routine antenatal assessment.
She developed symptoms the following day and after receiving health advice from her midwife, underwent a Covid-19 test which returned the positive result. The woman is now in a managed isolation facility, the ministry said.
During her time at the birthing unit, the woman was asymptomatic and had answered no to screening contact questions.
As the woman was at the birthing unit within a 48-hour window prior to developing symptoms, some staff members and patients are considered contacts.
Counties Manukau DHB thanked the woman for recognising her symptoms when they developed and for undergoing a Covid-19 test as soon as possible. Doing so has enabled any potentially impacted staff members and patients to be traced as quickly as possible.