'Huge concern': Covid-19 in Murupara, one of the least vaccinated areas in the country

Thursday, 23 December 2021

There are four positive cases of Covid-19 in Murupara, a small town in the Bay of Plenty.

Covid-19 is now in Murupara, one of the least vaccinated areas in the country, with four positive cases reported in the small Bay of Plenty town so far.

The latest data from the Ministry of Health shows less than 70 per cent of the eligible population in Murupara have received at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, and just 55 per cent are double vaccinated.

University of Otago epidemiologist Professor Michael Baker said the new Covid cases in the town are “a huge concern”.

“We know the Delta variant is highly infectious, it will spread very rapidly when it encounters a pocket or a cluster of people who have low vaccine coverage, then there’s very little in the way of it spreading quite widely through those networks,” he said.

Roxie Mohebbi leads a discussion about the Covid-19 vaccine with immunologist Dr Maia Brewerton and general practitioner Dr Api Talemaitoga as part of Stuff's Whole Truth project.

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University of Otago epidemiologist Professor Michael Baker said the new Covid cases in Murupara are “a huge concern”.

* Covid-19: The Delta outbreak and hospitalisations in 12 graphs

Baker said lack of vaccination is clustered, it is not evenly distributed across the population, “so when [the virus] finds a pocket like this it will spread extensively, and you’d hope that it doesn’t infect particularly older, vulnerable people, who could have really poor outcomes”.

He said while it is saying the obvious by now, everyone getting vaccinated as fast as possible will help.

Baker also urged people to get tested if they have Covid symptoms, to follow the rules put in place to limit transmission, to spend time outdoors and in well-ventilated spaces, and to wear masks when they are indoors.

“In terms of people protecting their whānau and communities – getting vaccinated and just paying attention to those basics … it could be stopped in its tracks.”

Murupara is in the Whakatāne district of Bay of Plenty and has a population of about 1800 people.

Whakatāne mayor Judy Turner told Stuff on Thursday that “clearly there is quite a measure of concern in the community up in Murupara”.

“I do believe that the cases are related and are well contained, and that’s good. What I would encourage people to consider, is that if they develop any symptoms that they go straight away and get tested, rather than delaying,” Turner said.

Dr Phil Shoemack, the on-call medical officer of health at Toi Te Ora, in the public health unit’s contact-tracing engine room in central Tauranga.

“And that if they’re open to vaccination, I think that that would be a really good move, to go and get themselves vaccinated.”

Dr Phil Shoemack, the on-call medical officer of health at Toi Te Ora, the public health unit covering Bay of Plenty and Lakes district health boards, told Stuff there are four individuals living in the same household in Murupara who have been confirmed as having Covid-19.

They are all active cases.

Shoemack said there are also at least another four confirmed Covid cases elsewhere in the Bay of Plenty region – a household not in Murupara – who are directly related to the Murupara four.

“The extent to which that [Murupara] household is contained and won’t spread only time will tell,” he said.

“I guess the point is, Murupara's not an island. I don’t know how many, but on a normal day there will be a number of people that drive in and out of Murupara, to Rotorua, to Whakatāne, in both directions. It’s not walled off. Personally, I don’t see it as being remote. I mean, it’s less than 45 minutes to Rotorua.”

As for the Murupara’s low vaccination rate, Shoemack said: “It’s a concern. It’s definitely a concern, no doubt about that. It’s not the only community with low vaccination rates in our patch, but it has got one of – if not the – lowest.”

Like many parts of the country, Bay of Plenty and Lakes managed to stay Delta-free for almost three months after the variant emerged in Auckland – despite some close calls and false alarms.

The good run ended late on November 12, a Friday, when a positive Covid case was confirmed in Taupō. Cases in Rotorua soon followed, and before long the virus was also in the community in Tauranga.

Shoemack said Delta has now spread pretty much around the whole Bay of Plenty and Lakes patch, with a total number of 220 confirmed cases since November 12 – 125 of those still active and isolating.