Travel details released: New Otago-linked cases

The Ministry of Health has confirmed one new Otago case of Covid-19, a man in his 40s, and four cases linked to the World Hereford Conference in Queenstown.

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New Zealand has 14 new cases of Covid-19, bring the total number of cases to 66. The alert level remained at level 2.

Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield says there are also four probable cases.

There are five confirmed cases in Auckland, one in Northland, one in Canterbury, two in New Plymouth, two in Waikato including one in Hamilton, one in Tauranga, one in the Coromandel and one in Otago.

The Ministry of Health has listed this new Otago case as being in Dunedin, however the Southern District Health Board gave conflicting information today saying the man was from Queenstown.

It brings the total number of cases in the Southern District to eight.

The man who was confirmed as the new Otago case today flew from Los Angeles to Auckland on March 14 – flight NZ1 - and Auckland to Queenstown on March  14 – flight NZ615.

World Hereford Conference

Meanwhile four further cases were linked to the World Hereford Conference in Queenstown. 

Visitors in New Zealand for the World Hereford Conference earlier this month attend the Wanaka A&P show. Photo: ODT files

The conference took place in Queenstown from March 9 to 13 and Dr Bloomfield said it attracted visitors from overseas and New Zealand.

Teams who went to the conference were being followed up. Four attendees including two New Zealanders, had tested positive.

The four-yearly conference, which was based in Queenstown, was last held in New Zealand in 1984. It attracted breeders from around the world for the week-long event.

A man in his 60s who tested positive in Auckland after attending the event, flew from Dunedin to Auckland on Sunday March 15 – flight NZ674.

Another person in their 60s (sex not listed), also tested positive, but their travel details were not listed.

The other two from the conference who tested positive were an Australian and one from Uruguay, who are not in New Zealand so not included on the overall list of cases.

This meant their travel details have also not been revealed.

Close contacts of the cases, which included all attendees at the conference, were being asked to self-isolate.

“They have also been contacted and required to self-isolate for 14 days.”

"Southern District Health Board is doing the tracking and tracing work on this with support from the Ministry of Health."

Organised by the New Zealand Hereford Association, the conference had delegates from Europe, South America, USA, England and Australia, with the biggest contingent of 35 from Uruguay.

In addition to pre and post tours, delegates spent several days in Queenstown listening to speakers and hearing industry reports from the various countries.

A pre-conference tour was held in the North Island and a post-conference tour was held in the South Island.

World Hereford Conference members also visited the Wanaka A&P Show which ran from March 13-14.

About 40,000 people were estimated to have attended the popular Wanaka event which injects at least $11million into the Upper Clutha economy each year.

Alert to public

Southern DHB is alerting people in a number of locations across New Zealand that they may have come into contact with people who tested positive for Covid-19 this week. 

As part of its contact tracing process, it is important for public health teams to notify the public about the movements of infectious cases to maintain awareness of possible transmission and ensure everyone monitors their own health.

A number of confirmed cases of Covid-19 attended the World Hereford Conference (9-13 March in Queenstown) but none of these cases are residents of, or currently located in the Southern region. Conference attendees have been notified and asked to self-isolate for 14 days from last exposure.

In addition to conference attendees, there were a number of people who helped organise the conference who cannot be contacted, as the conference organiser has gone into insolvency. Those who worked at the conference are considered to be casual contacts and have not been asked to self-isolate but should monitor their health and immediately self-isolate and call Healthline on 0800 358 5453 if they develop symptoms such as a cough, fever, sore throat or difficulty breathing.

The following locations relate to possible casual contacts by members of the public that can’t be identified through contact tracing. Casual contacts are people who may have come into contact with the individual, but for less than 15 minutes and/or at a distance of more than two metres.  The risk in these instances is considered to be low. Those who believe they may have come into contact with the case are advised to monitor their health and call Healthline on 0800 358 5453 if they develop symptoms such as a cough, fever, sore throat or difficulty breathing.

Auckland

• Ibis Budget Auckland Airport - Overnight 9th March - Casual contact – low risk
• Ozone Cafe - 10th March  10am - 11am - Casual contact – low risk
• Abaco on Jervois - 10th March 12pm - 2.30pm -  Casual contact – low risk
• Les Mills on Victoria St - 10th March 3pm - 4pm - Casual contacts – low risk
• Azabu, Ponsonby - 10th March 6.30pm - 8pm - Casual contacts – low risk
• Koru Lounge, Domestic Airport - 10th March 9pm-10.30pm - Casual contacts – low risk

Queenstown

• New World, Wakatipu - 16th March  - 1pm-1.30pm
• World Hereford Conference - 9th - 13th March and World Hereford Post Conference Tour  - 14th - 19th March - Close contacts for these events have been informed. They are mostly conference attendees. These events could involve other contacts, including those who worked at the conference. They are considered to be casual contacts – low risk.

Invercargill

• 10^th March 9.55am flight   NZ102  Sydney to Auckland
• 10^th March 4pm flight NZ555   Auckland-Christchurch
• 10^th March 5.30pm flight NZ5717 Christchurch – Invercargill 

Close contacts have already been informed by Public Health and/or airline. This flight information is a correction as the original flight details published online and in the media contained errors. Risk to those not contacted individually is low.

Here are the travel details of the new cases:

66: Auckland 20s M Austria to Auckland via Doha arrived 17 March- flight EK448
65: Northland 40s F Melbourne to Auckland on Sunday 15 March – flight JQ217
64 Canterbury 50s F San Francisco to Auckland on Monday 16 March – flight NZ7
Auckland to Christchurch on Tuesday 17 March – flight NZ523
63: Taranaki 20s M Dubai to Auckland on Tuesday 17 March – flight EK448
Auckland to New Plymouth on 18 March – flight NZ8041
62: Taranaki 50s M Bangkok to Auckland on Sunday 15 March – flight TG0491
Auckland to New Plymouth on 16 March – flight NZ8041
61: Auckland 40s F Travel to Africa – details to come
60: Auckland 20s M Dubai to Auckland on Monday 16 March – flight EK448
59: Auckland 60s   No international travel history – exposed at World Herefords Conference in Queenstown.
58: Auckland 60s M No international travel history – exposed at World Herefords Conference in Queenstown. Domestic travel history:
Dunedin to Auckland on Sunday 15 March – flight NZ674
57: Hamilton 60s F Travel history to Ireland, Dubai and Australia. Details to come.
56: Bay of Plenty 30s M Travel history to the United States of America – details to come.
55: Coramandel 60s M Honolulu to Auckland on 14 March – flight HA445 (arrived 15 March)
54: Waikato 40s F Contact with a confirmed case
53: Otago (conflicting information on exact location)  40s M LA to Auckland on 14 March – flight NZ1
Auckland to Queenstown on 14 March – flight NZ615