More water bug scares in Bay

The Hawke’s Bay retirement village where an 89-year-old woman died last week is reportedly in lockdown due to another gastro outbreak.

It is believed a unit of Mary Doyle Lifecare, in Havelock North, has discovered a recurrence of campylobacter.

Jean Sparksman died on Friday after contracting the illness last week.

Meanwhile, earlier yesterday, a Hawke’s Bay primary school was forced to close over a fresh E coli scare.

The closure of Haumoana School follows a gastro bug outbreak in the water supply in nearby Havelock North that made thousands of people ill. The school, which has its own water bore, said it had increased the frequency of its water testing in the wake of the Havelock North crisis.

On the school’s Facebook page, principal Jane Gallen said the school had closed after receiving a positive E coli test at 9.15am yesterday for a test carried out on Monday.

As a result it had disconnected its supply and made the decision to close.

‘‘The Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health were immediately contacted to provide advice and support, and our board of trustees has recommended our school be closed today while our water is investigated,’’ Gallen said.

‘‘Re-testing of the water is under way as this test may be a false positive, but we take the health and safety of our children and staff seriously and wish to ensure we are proactive in managing this situation.’’

She said the school would be working closely with health agencies and the Ministry of Education to ensure its drinking water supply was safe and it could reopened as soon as possible.

Hastings District Council water services manager Brett Chapman said the school bore was separate to the council supply but the council was considering chlorinating the bores that supply Haumoana, Te Awanga and Clive.

Clive School has also closed for today as a precaution.