Hospital worker tests positive for Covid-19

A Middlemore Hospital staff member has tested positive for Covid-19. The staff member works in the emergency department. The case is now under investigation. A Ministry of Health spokesman said the public health risk was low, as the staff member was asymptomatic and had been fully vaccinated. The case was detected through routine testing, the spokesman said. The staff member wore PPE while at work, and took appropriate precautions with patients, he said. The emergency department will remain open and the staff member has been stood down while public health staff investigate.