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Another 14 cases are “under further investigation,” the Health Ministry confirmed this afternoon.
Cases were detected during routine testing on day three and none involved cases in the community. The ministry said the positive cases are part of a group that are the only people staying at the Christchurch facility.
“All relevant public health measures are being taken. Strict infection, prevention and control processes are followed at the facilities to minimize the risk to the public and staff.
“The positive cases are part of a group that are the only people left in this facility. This is an example of how our border controls work as they should.”
A total of 440 fishermen from Russia and Ukraine remain in quarantine at the managed isolation facility.
The Sudima hotel, near the city’s airport, was closed this afternoon after a staff member told COO Les Morgan there was a “series of infections.”
Morgan told Newstalk ZB that he had been told that there are “a significant number of potential cases” of Covid-19, limited to hotel guests in isolation.
Morgan said he understood that many were from Russia, but could not confirm that any of the men were from Ukraine.
“They are the only guests at the hotel and have been model guests.
“All they told me this morning is that there were a significant number of possible infections and that the hotel had to close immediately,” he said.
Morgan said talking to hotel staff members had given him the feeling that the situation was contained and staff were comfortable with current policies for handling the outbreak.
“I’m certainly a bit worried, of course, but I have a lot of confidence and faith in the procedures that the government has put in place.”
Morgan said he was looking forward to a briefing for Health Ministry staff and couldn’t say more about it.
This afternoon, police were at the quarantine facility and Canterbury District Board of Health staff were seen coming and going wearing face masks. A security fence surrounds the hotel.
The government’s head of managed isolation and quarantine, Air Commodore Darryn Webb, said late in the afternoon that Sudima was well prepared to contain Covid-19 cases.
“As a precautionary measure, the facility has been closed with guests confined to their rooms while the quarantine preparations are under way.
“Additional security and nursing staff will be deployed and a special staff testing station will be established. This is to ensure that there are safeguards for staff and returnees.”
Sudima staff did not work at other sites, Webb said.
Staff take infection prevention measures that include physical distancing, regular and thorough cleaning, use of PPE, basic hygiene practices and daily health checks, he said.
“The facilities also have their own specific security processes. This includes preventing the entry of members of the public, minimizing movement of residents in the facilities, maintaining the safety of residents and ensuring that physical distancing is maintained.”
FISHING COMPANY INVOICES FOOT
The fishermen are believed to have arrived in Christchurch from Moscow via Singapore on Friday.
The fishing companies had chartered two flights to bring the sailors to New Zealand and are also bearing the costs of a 14-day managed isolation for the crew members.
The international seafarers are employed by three fishing companies: Sealord, IFL and Maruha. They issued a joint statement saying that the detection of the infected crew members showed that the control measures at the border were working.
“Our current concern is the health and well-being of our fishermen with Covid-19, however we are confident that MIQ [managed isolation and quarantine] It has all the appropriate protocols and you are in good hands.
“At this time we are not sure what the impact will be on our fishing companies, however we fully understand and support all necessary actions to prevent the transmission of Covid-19 in the community,” the companies said.
“Any additional costs in handling these cases will be borne by the fishing companies, not the New Zealand taxpayer.”
Seafood New Zealand CEO Jeremy Helson said all incoming fishermen were tested by Covid before boarding the charter flight to New Zealand.
“All the crew tested negative. This pre-flight test exceeded government requirements. While we wait to see how many cases there are, the fact that they were all detected in quarantine shows that the system is working well.”
Helson previously said that shore-bound ships would cost Sealord, Independent Fisheries and Maruha Nichiro tens of millions of dollars.
Bringing the specialized equipment into the country was a lifesaver for them, as they couldn’t keep kiwis employed in processing plants if they couldn’t fish.
Welcome packets were being translated into Russian and fishing companies were paying for translators, as well as chartered flights and room charges.
Previously, the Ministry of Health issued a statement at 1 pm warning that today there was a new case of Covid, in managed isolation.
The new imported case is a person who arrived on October 7 from Kenya via Dubai. They tested positive around day 12 of their stay and were transferred to a managed isolation facility in Auckland, he said.
