There are five new cases of Covid-19 to report in New Zealand today - four in managed isolation and the community case identified in Christchurch yesterday.
Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield and Minister for Covid-19 Response Chris Hipkins were giving an update on the latest cases this afternoon.
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It's been revealed that Christchurch's community case is a health worker who was looking after foreign fishermen in managed isolation.
The worker, a woman in her 50s on duty at the Sudima Hotel at Christchurch airport, tested positive this week. She is in isolation at home and has mild symptoms.
One of her household contacts, a Cashmere High School student, is in isolation and has tested negative. They will be tested again, Bloomfield told media in Wellington.
Parents at Cashmere have been told that the school community do not need to be tested or to self-isolate unless they have any symptoms. "It is business as usual at the school today," Bloomfield said.
Other Sudima staff working on the same shift as the woman are being contacted and will be tested if necessary.
Video footage at Countdown in Colombo St, which the woman visited, is being reviewed. A low number of people were at the supermarket at the same time as her, Bloomfield said.
He believed the risk of spread at the Countdown and at the school was low, and currently there were no other areas of interest where spread might have occurred.
He likened the situation to the Jet Park nurse who went to three Les Mills exercise classes in Auckland and the port worker-related case who went to the North Shore pub - neither of which led to further infections.
Bloomfield would not say he was disappointed that the woman went to Countdown while symptomatic because he didn't know all the details. But the broad message was for people who felt sick to stay at home.
Anyone concerned about the update should contact Healthline on 0800 358 5453 and there is a lot of capacity for testing in Christchurch, he said.
International fishing crew members have been staying at the Sudima facility. Of the 237 mariners, 31 are infected with Covid-19.
The community case means their stay will be extended for 24 hours while a full picture of the situation is ascertained. The men were brought in to work on New Zealand fishing boats and are from Russia and the Ukraine.
There are three different lineages of the virus among the dozens of mariners who have tested positive. None were in New Zealand prior to the arrival of the group.
The genome sequencing for the latest case was expected later today.
Bloomfield said the source of infection for the health worker at the Sudima was still being looked at.
"It's possible we will find other cases."
FOUR NEW CASES IN MANAGED ISOLATION
Bloomfield said the four new cases announced today are in the Jet Park quarantine facility in Auckland.
• One arrived on October 19 from Kabul via Dubai and tested positive around day 12.
• Another arrived on October 21 from London via Doha and Brisbane tested positive around day 12.
• The third third case arrived on October 29 from the United States via Sydney and tested positive around day three.
• The fourth case arrived on October 29 from US via Doha and Brisbane and tested positive around day three.
For the first two who tested positive around day 12, Bloomfield said they now have a process to rule out cross-contamination at the isolation facilities and ensure they are not old cases.
Eleven cases have recovered and there are still 75 active ones. Total confirmed cases are 1612 and yesterday 2455 tests were completed.
Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said everyone arriving in New Zealand is treated as if they have the coronavirus, and the border control measures were working.
The latest community case - the Sudima Hotel worker - was potentially infectious for a "small window of time", and the minister thanked the worker for getting tested when they became symptomatic.
He urged Kiwis to use the NZ Covid Tracer app as it gave officials a "real head start" in cases like this.
"We will see cases emerge from time to time. The key is to identify them early and to contain them."
Hipkins said there was a booking system in place for rooms in managed isolation and space was tight. People would have to rearrange their travel dates, and that will disappoint some people, but safety was the priority.
People could apply for exemptions, but the bar was very high, he said.
AUCKLAND AUGUST CLUSTER CLOSED
Hipkins said the Auckland August cluster is now officially closed. It involved 179 cases.
"Auckland is now back to enjoying the freedoms we all enjoy at alert level 1. But we are not at alert level none. We need to continue to use the Covid Tracer app."
- NZ Herald and RNZ
