Health & wellbeing  |  28 Oct 2021

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Confirmation of two COVID-19 cases in Christchurch is a stark reminder of why people need to follow the public health guidelines and get vaccinated, says Mayor Lianne Dalziel.

“The mantra is wear masks, use QR Codes, get a test if you’re not feeling well and get vaccinated.

“Unfortunately we knew it was only going to be a matter of time before we got cases of the highly transmissible Delta variant of COVID-19 here,’’ the Mayor says.

Where you can get vaccinated

A drive-through vaccination clinic is operating at Christchurch Arena seven days a week. No booking is needed. The clinic is open from 1.30 to 7.30pm weekdays and from 11am to 5pm weekends.

The CDHB has organised some vaccination days and times specifically for people with disability, impairment or long-term health condition. These days and times are set up to be relaxed, welcoming, easy and have extra support in place to be accessible. Get more details.

Pop-up vaccination events are also being held across the region. See the full list.

“The public health risk is currently being assessed and I am hoping it can be managed without any change in alert levels. We will know this afternoon the extent of the close contacts and locations of interest.

“Like everyone, I am hoping these are two isolated cases. However, they should serve as a wake-up call to us all that we need to get vaccinated.

“Delta is spreading in New Zealand and if we want to avoid moving up alert levels when we do get cases in our community, we need to have a higher percentage of our population vaccinated.

“These cases are also a timely reminder that we need to follow the public health guidelines around social distancing and mask wearing to help limit the spread of the virus.

“I also can’t stress enough how important it is to use the NZ COVID tracer app to scan in at places you are visiting. It will make contract tracing much easier for health officials if we do get more cases here.

“If you are unwell and have any COVID-19 symptoms, stay at home and get tested. The Auckland experience shows just how quickly Delta can spread. Nobody wants to see that happening here so please do the right thing and get tested no matter how mild your symptoms are,’’ Mayor Dalziel says.