A teacher at a Western Bay of Plenty childcare centre has tested positive for Covid-19, prompting the closure of the centre.

The teacher, who works a BestStart Ōmokoroa, tested positive for the virus on Wednesday, BestStart Deputy CEO Fiona Hughes confirms.

'BestStart immediately made arrangements to close the centre and are working with the Ministry of Education and Public Health on the steps that need to be taken,” says Fiona.

This is the third exposure at a BestStart centre in the past month.

A parent from the company's Pyes Pā centre was infectious during a visit on January 19, meaning there were 59 children and 15 staff identified as close contacts.

On January 30, a teacher from the BestStart McDonald Street centre in Mount Maunganui tested positive.

In this instance, there were 44 children and 12 staff at the facility at the time.

For both of these exposure events, the centres were closed and deep cleans conducted, says Fiona.

When asked if the current exposure is linked to the other centres, Hughes told Local Democracy Reporting there is no link between them.

'We understand that it may be linked to another case in the Ōmokoroa community,” she says.

Bay of Plenty District Health Board community based testing lead Aroha Tito has provided advice on testing for children.

'We can offer children an oropharyngeal (throat) swab at community testing centres,” says Aroha.

'However, nasal swabs (or PCR tests) are the preferred test for Covid-19.”

She says a throat swab may also be requested by a health practitioner, if someone is experiencing problems receiving the preferred nasal swab.

'Testing is still a crucial tool in our response to Covid-19,” says Aroha.

'We continue to urge anyone with symptoms, anyone who has visited a location of interest a time notified, or if you have been asked to seek a test, to get tested.”

Currently there are 209 active cases of Covid-19 in the Bay of Plenty, with 29 new cases announced by the Ministry of Health yesterday.

The ministry does not give more detailed information about where the cases are in the region for privacy reasons.

-Local Democracy Reporting is Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air.