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A boat carrying people considered close contacts to a new community Covid-19 case was being greeted by health officials in Napier on Sunday.
Dr. Ashley Bloomfield chaired a surprise press conference, revealing details about a worker on a ship who tested positive for the virus on Saturday.
How the worker acquired Covid-19 is still being established, and genomic testing will take place next week.
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Chris Hipkins says that given the timing of the man’s symptoms, it was unlikely he was infected in Taranaki.
The ship will be at anchor and will not reach the Napier port. However, a spokeswoman for the port said it would help the Hawke’s Bay District Board of Health get medical personnel on board.
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While his infection is being treated as community transmission, Bloomfield said the man was likely to catch the virus at the border and that the risk to the public was “low.”
The man’s job has seen him work on ships in New Zealand ports, including the ports of Auckland and Taranaki for the past two weeks.
Stuff
A ship arriving in Napier port on Sunday afternoon will be greeted by health officials. (File photo)
“The people on that ship he worked on in New Plymouth are being treated as close contacts. That ship is en route to Napier and is arriving there this afternoon, “said Bloomfield.
“The public health unit at Napier and other port authorities will work carefully and closely to implement plans to isolate and test the crew there … no one on board has symptoms at this time.”
The man was potentially infectious on Wednesday and Thursday. During that time, he checked into the Devon Hotel on Tuesday night, and owner Peter Tennent confirmed that a deep cleaning had been done on the man’s room.
Port Taranaki CEO Guy Roper said he was reviewing his entry and exit point records to determine if the man had had contact with any port personnel.
Andy Jackson / Stuff
Devon Hotel owner Peter Tennent says a deep cleaning was carried out in the room used by the latest community case of Covid-19 in the country.
“At this stage, the Ministry of Health has determined that only one staff member had brief contact with the confirmed case. That staff member is being contacted and tested, ”Roper said in a written statement.
Historically, concerns have been raised about ports being a potential weak point in the country’s Covid-19 border system. However, Bloomfield said the public must have confidence in the established systems.
“The measures in our ports are now very strict, including things like the use of PPE on board ships, the regular testing regimes, and again to point out that this person had had four negative tests, the last one on October 2 as part of that regular test.
Abigail Dougherty / Stuff
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said there is nothing to suggest that a change in alert levels is necessary, following the discovery of a new community case of Covid-19 revealed on Sunday.
“He was a regular in getting his biweekly tests done,” Bloomfield said.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said “there was nothing to suggest” that a change in alert levels was necessary, because the man was already working in a high-risk area.
“I understand that this person has already been examined, as part of the routine tests, four times.
Katarina Williams / Things
Dr. Ashley Bloomfield announces a new case of community transmission on Sunday.
“It’s actually an example of how the system works,” Ardern said.
On Friday, the man left work after developing symptoms and was tested for Covid-19 as soon as he became symptomatic; it was then that his positive result was collected.
“We are using our rapid contact tracing and testing systems to make sure there are no more cases associated with this man,” the ministry said.
The infected worker, along with four household contacts, are in isolation at the Jet Park quarantine facility in Auckland.
After learning of the positive result, Bloomfield notified Health Minister Chris Hipkins shortly after 6 p.m. Saturday.
