Confirmation of suspected norovirus pending
A suspected norovirus outbreak at the Golden Bay Holiday Park at Tukurua has devastated the holidays of many campers, with various sources reporting between 80 and 150 cases among campers and among some community members who have been in contact with them.
The outbreak shut down the camp, and as late as Wednesday the Nelson Marlborough District Health Board could not confirm that norovirus was responsible. Suspicions of contamination from a nearby waterway are also unconfirmed. The DHB said that they had learned lessons from the outbreak that would see them react more quickly in future.
Campers due at Tukurua were being redirected to camps at Collingwood, Pohara and the “partially open” Pakawau Camp.
Other camp operators spoken to by The GB Weekly said that they were in regular contact with health officials and keeping their visitors as well informed as possible.
“We don’t have the virus and we want to keep it that way,” said Brent Clarke from the Pohara Beach Top Ten Holiday Park. “Our staff used the material sent to us by the DHB to design a poster that we put up in all the important places. It just reassures people and reminds them of the things they can do to keep themselves safe.”
Brent said that it was understandable for anyone with any kind of tummy bug to assume they had the virus, though that had made everyone ultra conscious of the hygiene procedures.
Hugh Mytton from DOC’s Totaranui camp said that a small number of campers in one or two bays had been affected by “some sort of bug” shortly after Christmas.
“There’s been nothing that I’ve been aware of for the last fortnight,” said Hugh. “Because campers here cook and do dishes over their own facilities instead of in a shared kitchen, there’s less of a chance for bugs to spread. We know there’s some funny rumours out there and people do get paranoid but we’re still fully booked and everyone seems happy over here.”
Neil Wilson
