Covid-19 coronavirus: Drifting hunt to track down 7 passengers – Have you been on these buses?

Public health officials have unveiled 10 further Auckland bus journeys taken by two people who later tested positive for Covid-19 – and are now racing to track down seven passengers who may have been exposed.

The two cases involved a number of other buses while they were infected, as well as a two-and-a-half-hour shared trip on the 22N bus on Wednesday, August 12th.

One case linked to the Auckland cluster took the 670 bus on August 10 along a route via Mt Roskill to Otahuhu and then later between Otahuhu and Avondale.

The other case – a Westfield St Lukes employee – also took buses three days after the level 3 warning on 14, 15 and 17 August, and traveled on the same Route 22 route between Symonds St and St Lukes.

Sixteen passengers identified by their HOP cards on these buses at the same time as a case are considered close contacts.

They were now asked to isolate and test themselves if Auckland Regional Public Health Service (ARPHS) could contact them via their HOP details.

Two people who traveled on these routes on an unregistered HOP map these days were close contacts, but authorities have not yet found contact details for them.

People on these buses at these times, longer than 15 minutes, were asked to self-isolate, call Healthline (0800 358 5453) for advice and be tested as soon as possible, ARPHS said in a statement.

Anyone who sat on one of these buses for less than 15 minutes at these times was considered an accidental contact and should be aware that there is a very small possibility that they are exposed to the virus.

“As a precaution, they should look for symptoms, and call Healthline if they do not get well.”

On the day the two cases were traveling together on the 22N bus, there were serious traffic accidents prior to the lockdown that came into force later that day.

“The situation was made worse with traffic queuing for the Covid test center through the St Lukes shopping center,” ARPHS said.

Six of the 11 close contacts on the bus at the same time were warned of their exposure and asked to be checked and go into self-isolation by the National Investigation and Tracing Center.

Five people with registered HOP cards without current contact details have yet to be tracked down, along with two others on this bus who have not used a registered HOP card.

Last week, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said there had been a discussion about having QR codes on buses, but the HOP card system provided that data already.

Other cities did not have the same data for bus maps, and Ardern said tracer apps were being looked at in the cities.

The 10 bus trips

Monday, August 10:

Bus number 670, between 9.13am and 9.39am, 91 Carr Rd, Roskill (stop 1365) to 28 Mason Ave, Otahuhu (stop 7025)

Monday, August 10: Bus number 670, between 11.38am and 12.31pm, from Otahuhu Town Center (Stop 1356) to Rosebank Rd, Avondale (Stop 1456).

Wednesday 12 August: Bus number 75, between 9.44am and 10.04am, from 351 Remuera Rd (Stop 7415) to 83 Symonds St (Stop 7149)

Wednesday 12 August: Bus number 22N, between 10.30am and 1.04am, from Symonds Street Overbridge (Stop 7162) to New North Rd (Stop 8200)

Friday 14 August: Bus number 22N, between 08.33am and 8.47am, from 4 Symonds St (Stop 7146) to 63 Morningside Drive (Stop 8666)

Friday 14 August: Bus number 22R, between 18.06 and 6.16 hours, from 65 Morningside Drive (Stop 8861) to 25 Symonds St (Stop 7147)

Saturday, August 15: Bus number 22N, between 08.37am and 8.48am, from 4 Symonds St (Stop 7146) to 63 Morningside Drive (Stop 8666)

Saturday, August 15: Bus number 22N, between 5.11pm and 5.22pm, from 65 Morningside Drive (Stop 8861) to 25 Symonds St (Stop 7147)

Monday, August 17: Bus number 22N, between 10.04 and 10.16 hours, from 4 Symonds St (Stop 7146) to 63 Morningside Drive (Stop 8666)

Monday, August 17: Bus number 22N, between 11.04 and 11.13am, from 65 Morningside Drive (Stop 8861) to 25 Symonds St (Stop 7147)