Yesterday it was announced there were seven more positive cases of Covid-19 have been confirmed on board the container ship Mattina, bringing the total number of cases to nine.
In an update today the Ministry of Health said two of the crew who tested positive were this morning transferred to hospital for assessment. All infection prevention and control measures were in place, including the appropriate use of PPE.
Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield said at this afternoon's media briefing the pair were transferred to the Southland Hospital emergency department.
Officials were currently assessing whether the rest of the crew who had tested positive for Covid-19 would stay on the ship for their entire quarantine period.
There would be regular testing of the crew who were yet to test positive for Covid-19.
Results of additional testing of the crew would be reported tomorrow. Southern District Health Board had plans in place for the appropriate management and treatment of any crew aboard the vessel requiring hospital level care.
The Ministry expected to have further information about the source of those infections when whole genome sequencing is completed in the next few days.
There were no new cases of Covid-19 to report in the community or in managed isolation facilities in New Zealand today.
