On Tuesday it was revealed a child from the North Island travelled south by ferry and road to attend the Whare Flat Folk Festival, and then travelled home again.
The new public health alert follows a flurry of measles cases in the South late last year, when more than 70 people were diagnosed with the highly infectious and potentially lethal disease.
As well as their ferry trips and time at the festival, the child was briefly in the emergency department of Dunedin Hospital and also visited Christchurch - where their diagnosis was confirmed.
The child is understood to be responding well to treatment.
Measles symptoms are similar to those of a cold or influenza, and the disease is often misdiagnosed due to that.
Whare Flat Folk Festival director Bill Morris said the measles case was something beyond the control of organisers and was a sad end to what had been a very successful event.
‘‘It’s unfortunate but these things happen,’’ he said.
‘‘It’s just down to fate really.’’
As soon as the diagnosis was made public, the festival posted an advisory notice on its Facebook page.
It said that the child was unwell during the festival and as a consequence had very little interaction with other children.
Yesterday, health officials revised the times when the child may have come into contact with members of the public, and how long people who fear they may have contracted measles should remain in isolation. —
• December 28: Interislander ferry, Wellington to Picton, 8.45am–noon. Remain isolated until January 11.
• December 30-January 3: Whare Flat Folk Music Festival. Remain isolated until January 17.
• December 30: Emergency department, Dunedin Hospital, 8.30pm-1am. Remain isolated until January 14.
• January 6: Interislander ferry Picton to Wellington, 2.30-5.45pm. Remain isolated until January 20.
