Covid 19 coronavirus: Mt Roskill church group could push Covid’s long tail for weeks

LAST VIRUS
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A new Covid-19 “additional tentacle” connected to a Mt Roskill church was ignited when an asymptomatic visitor went to the home of a grieving family while Auckland was at alert level 3.

The visit may have violated the Level 3 rules, which require people to stay inside the home bubbles. “Do not invite or allow social visitors, such as friends, extended family, or whanau, to enter your home,” says the government council at level 3.

It comes amid revelations that members of Mt Roskill Evangelical Fellowship Church were reluctant to get tested because they doubted the “science” of the virus, prompting a plea from Auckland Mayor Phil Goff that everyone do your part.

And yesterday the general director of health Ashley Bloomfield admitted that the new “subgroup”, connected to the church, could extend the long tail of the outbreak for weeks.

The visit that triggered the subgroup was on August 27 and involved a church member who had been tested but did not know he had Covid-19 because the result was still pending.

They were part of the larger congregation of the church, rather than close contact, and they were not isolated because they had no symptoms at the time.

Four of the six new cases yesterday were part of the subgroup, which now has 22 cases, more than half of the 43 cases that make up the “mini-group” of the church group. The Auckland group now has 171 cases.

READ MORE:
• Coronavirus Covid 19: Six new community cases, all linked to the ‘mini cluster’ of Mount Roskill
• Covid 19 coronavirus: why the Mt Roskill mini-cluster has delayed a move to level 1
• Covid 19 coronavirus: student who tested positive in an undisclosed contact, says Hipkins
• Covid 19 coronavirus: student infected in class on Friday, primary school student self-isolated, nearby schools on high alert

Bloomfield said the subgroup was the “only additional tentacle” connected to the church group, but that it already included a student from St. Dominic Catholic School, a Northern Express bus driver, and “several other workplaces. “.

He has 108 close contacts so far, including 48 people who attended a tangi on September 2, which was allowed because Auckland had moved to level 2.5.

Now all church members are being asked to re-test, while the police have been brought in to encourage continued cooperation.

The involvement of the police in the church is not new. They were called in to break up a meeting of church members on August 15, when Auckland was still at level 3.

“Police attended Mt Roskill Evangelical Fellowship Church after 7 pm on August 15 after a report was received regarding a meeting,” said Assistant Commissioner Richard Chambers.

“Church leaders were verbally warned that any other meeting that violated the restrictions could result in legal proceedings.”

Bloomfield wasn’t sure if any of the current cases had been infected from that meeting.

Yesterday, Health Minister Chris Hipkins said that some members of the church group had been reluctant to get tested because they “don’t accept the science” behind a virus that has killed nearly 900,000 people around the world.

He added that the St Dominic student appeared to be a previously undisclosed close contact, but Bloomfield later clarified that was not the case.

Bloomfield said there were a number of reasons not to get tested, even if people believed that Covid-19 is “a real thing” or how invasive the test was.

Mayor Phil Goff said he was pleased that church members now seemed to accept the need for testing and the reasoning behind the restrictions on social gatherings.

“It is disappointing that some, including fringe political groups and others, continue to suggest that these rules are not necessary or worse, that Covid-19 is not real, but some kind of international conspiracy,” Goff said.

“That statement is obviously incorrect and irresponsible. The constraints we all live under are necessary and we all have a role to play in containing and eliminating the virus.”

“If some don’t, they disappoint everyone else.”

Bloomfield said that using the powers under the Health Act to force people to self-quarantine remains an option.

He said it already provides the legal authority to quarantine cases and their homes at the Jet Park Hotel.

Yesterday there were 74 people linked to the Auckland group at the Jet Park, including 58 people who tested positive and their domestic contacts.

There were four people in the hospital with Covid-19, including two who are in the ICU.

The number of tests remained high, with 8363 tests processed Tuesday, and of the 3,346 close contacts identified, only 41 are yet to come.

Meanwhile, the Auckland Regional Public Health Service said the risk of infection from the Auckland bus driver in the subgroup was low.

There were 319 passengers on bus trips with the driver, who had no symptoms, was wearing a mask and was seated at least six feet from the passengers as the front seats were locked.

Staff who drove the bus after the driver was asked to take a test, while watching CCTV footage to see if other staff members were in close contact.

Bloomfield said all members of the St. Dominic school community are being informed about the test because there could have been contact in the hallways.