Covid 19 coronavirus: close contact of a marine engineer tests positive; 8 new cases at the border

There are nine new cases of Covid-19 today: one in the “naval engineer group” and eight in managed isolation.

Seven of the cases in managed isolation are among the fishing crew in Christchurch, the other person came from Iran.

The other new case was a close contact of the marine engineer who is believed to have tested positive while working on a ship that arrived in New Zealand from abroad.

The total number of active cases in New Zealand is 66.

Chief Health Officer Ashley Bloomfield said she was comfortable that Level 1 was the correct setting and that the group was well contained.

Health Minister Chris Hipkins said at this point the group was not causing him elevated levels of anxiety “just the usual levels of anxiety.”

Bloomfield said data from the push notification sent about Auckland pub The Malt, where a marine engineer contact visited, showed that a very low number of people had signed up.

There would be compliance issues with making registration mandatory, as it would be a lot of resources to have someone stand at the door to make sure people sign up, Hipkins said.

But he did not rule out the option in the future, possibly under higher alert levels.

Hipkins said the last thing they wanted to do was be tough, which could mean people would start to rebel.

There will be a “very intensive” campaign over the next 72 hours to encourage Kiwis to use the app.

“The more we scan, the safer we are,” said Bloomfield.

When asked about a person who was at The Malt who refused to be tested, Bloomfield made a personal appeal for them to do so, but there were no legal grounds to compel them to do so.

Bloomfield reminded the media not to call close contacts of Covid-19 cases.

He reminded everyone that it was free to get tested, wherever the test was done.

Bloomfield repeated his message yesterday that this long weekend was a good “rehearsal” for the summer break where we could build good habits to keep New Zealanders safe.

Bloomfield said that we had been successful to date because of the high trust model and he was confident that if people saw the benefits of his behavior, there would be good buy-in.

Hipkins said the port workers were being evaluated biweekly, not weekly due to the risk assessment, although that was continually being reviewed.

One hundred and fifty international doctoral students have been approved for border waivers.

Community testing during the work weekend

Hipkins said it was “imperative” that people with symptoms get screened quickly: Auckland will have seven community centers open over the long weekend.

Bloomfield thanked New Zealanders, especially Aucklanders, “for doing the right thing” as it would help their families and communities stay safe.

Hipkins also thanked the team of five million for doing their part, but said there was no room for complacency and New Zealanders should be constantly on the alert regardless of alert levels.

Hipkins said that the fact that we were handling the most recent cases within alert level 1 was reassuring and was a reminder that the pandemic was rampant.

Before the long weekend, Hipkins asked that anyone who is ill stay home, call Healthline and get tested.

He also asked people to use the Covid Tracer app and to cover their faces in places where they cannot be physically distanced, such as on public transportation or airplanes.

Anyone with the Covid Tracer app will receive a notification this afternoon reminding them to use the app, he said.

He recalled that the QR codes of companies must be prominently displayed.

“We know how to prevent the spread of Covid 19 in New Zealand, we have done it many times.”

Yesterday’s cases

Yesterday there were no new community cases and two in managed isolation that were not connected to the fishing crew at a border hotel in Christchurch.

Bloomfield said yesterday that the small group appeared to be well contained and that his ministry had not yet recommended a change in alert levels.

The group began when a marine engineer is believed to have been infected while working on a ship and later passed it on to two others.

There are three confirmed cases related to the cluster.

Among the cases, they visited a pub, a gym and a marine supply store before testing positive on Auckland’s North Shore.

Snap Fitness in Browns Bay said in a Facebook message that the case was at the facility on Saturday, October 17 between 9 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.

The gymnasium was informed that the person was in the gym “while contagious” but “not symptomatic”.

The Auckland Regional Public Health Service said people who attended a 28-day “I Am Hope” challenge training camp or went to the facility on October 17 are considered close contacts.

These people should immediately isolate themselves and get tested and then remain isolated until they get the result. They must provide the test site staff with the SURV-TM4CL1 code, which is unique to the Snap Fitness expo event.