Covid 19 coronavirus: Auckland case: Latest updates from Chris Hipkins, Ministry of Health – CBD workers asked to stay home

The boss of a woman at the center of the new Covid outbreak has denied claims that he told her to work even though she felt ill.

Officials claimed Thursday afternoon that the woman, in her 20s who worked at AZ Collections on High St in a role serving customers, tried to phone her work at an Auckland CBD shop, but ended up coming in and wearing a mask.

The situation has been criticized by Auckland Mayor Phil Goff, who says he is frustrated and disappointed by the incident.

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THE STORY CONTINUES

It has led to a call for Auckland CBD employees to work from home today.

The woman became symptomatic on Monday and was examined on Tuesday.

But despite receiving advice to isolate himself, officials alleged that he spoke to his manager and went to work Wednesday wearing a mask.

But the store’s co-owner, who declined to give his name, told the Herald those claims were not true. And he has called the lawyers.

“We never met the staff [member] she was sick, she never said she had a test done, “she said.

“We never knew he was feeling bad. We just want to tell the truth.”

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The man said that he and his wife, who is the other co-owner of the store, have now contacted their attorney about the claims.

He also said that they had been the target of abusive messages on their cell phone and email account.

“We feel really unsafe,” he said.

In addition to the threats, they had been sent messages telling them to “go back to China”, while other messages included their home address.

Goff told NewstalkZB that the latest case was a big deal and the worst that could have happened.

He said Auckland could beat Covid again, but the Aucklanders had to follow the rules and work collectively.

The mayor also told RNZ that “this is not great news.”

“The worst thing that happened in this case is that the woman was told to isolate herself and then a store manager told her to come to work. That is frankly incredible.

“I just can’t understand that. It defies common sense. There’s a lesson in that, and you think it’s a lesson that people didn’t need to learn.”

Shortly after Goff struck, the Auckland Philharmonic Orchestra confirmed that their scheduled concert at Auckland City Hall would be held behind closed doors.

On its Facebook page, the orchestra stated: “For the safety of our audience, tonight’s concert will be CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC.

“The APO has just received advice from the Director General of Health regarding the Auckland CBD community case that was reported today.

“The orchestra will continue to take the stage for the presentation of The New Zealand Herald Premier Series: Poetry & Passion and this will be broadcast live on the APO website and Facebook page. Radio NZ will also broadcast as originally planned.”

Earlier, health chiefs said that people working in central Auckland are being asked to do their work from home if possible today.

Public Health Director Caroline McElnay said there was a detailed interview with the confirmed case.

The woman has a customer-facing role in her work at AZ Collections on Auckland’s High St, McElnay said.

He called work because he was told to isolate himself, but after a conversation with his manager he went to work and put on a mask.

The woman’s three close contacts are colleagues and friends and are being transferred to an isolation hotel. Everyone is reportedly feeling fine.

The woman also took several “very short” Uber trips to work and drivers are being contacted to ask them to isolate themselves.

The women’s movements have been released.

These include:

• Smith and Caughey’s on Queen St on Saturday, November 7 (3.50–6pm).

• Red Pig Restaurant, Kitchener St on Saturday, November 7 (6 – 8:30 p.m.)

• Takeout from Starbucks Queen St and Sunnytown Restaurant on Sunday, November 8 (11.30-11.45 AM).

• Takeaway from The Gateau House on Queen St Sunday, November 8 (6.40-6.50pm)

• Takeout from Starbucks Queen St and Sunnytown Restaurant, Lorne St, Monday, November 9 (11.31-11.40 am)

Anyone in the Auckland area and throughout New Zealand should stay home if they have cold or flu symptoms, he said.

As a precaution, Auckland residents who work in the CBD should work from home on Friday, McElnay said, and if you have to go to that area, you should wear a mask.

The female swab is processed overnight for genome sequencing and has been received by ESR.

An incident involving a fire alarm, where people in controlled isolation mingled with guests of the apartment where the woman lives, is not likely to be a source of infection for the case, as it was at 8 p.m. Monday by the night.

Alert level movement?

Covid Response Minister Chris Hipkins said the situation was different for the last outbreak when Auckland returned to alert level 3, but said that does not mean they would not review alert levels today.

He said it appeared the case was contained.

Hipkins asked that employers “do everything possible” to make sure their staff could stay home if they were sick. She said it was disappointing that the woman’s manager told her to go to work despite being advised by the health officer to stay home.

McElnay said there was no information at this stage that the woman or her contacts were moving out of the CBD.

Hipkins said he was comfortable because the guidance they were giving today was the best they could give on the information they had.

There was no danger of “increased risk” outside of CBD.

Hipkins, who is also the Minister of Education, said he was aware that it was testing season and that his advice to NZQA is to continue testing normally at this stage, as he knew that testing was generally conducted in a socially distant environment.

Anyone who has a test today should go until told otherwise, Hipkins said.

Hipkins said it was speculation to link the source to the woman who lived and worked near a managed isolation facility, but that it would be part of the investigation.

“We are asking people to do the right thing here.”

Hipkins said there will likely be more information today.

McElnay said the test was conducted quite late Tuesday night.

Hipkins said he hoped there would be more QR scanning because it meant they could notify people quickly if they might have been exposed.

“My message to everyone is that you don’t know when this might come up. So keep scanning.

“The QR code keeps everyone safe.”

He said that “we are a very, very mobile people”, so no one could assume that because most of the cases were in Auckland, the rest of the country was not at risk.

The government has not drawn a line on a map that defines the boundaries of the CBD, but is asking employers to be careful.

Those who live in the CBD should minimize their movements and contacts.

Hipkins has had several conversations with the Prime Minister, who is in Wellington. If the Cabinet needs to meet today, it would happen digitally.

Closing the heart of the city reflected the fact that we are not dealing with widespread community cases, Hipkins said.

And the measures could help stop more draconian measures, he said.

The woman, in her 20s, developed symptoms on Monday and was examined on Tuesday. The results were confirmed this morning.

The woman lives alone in an apartment in Vincent St Residences, did not visit the supermarket while she was infected and had limited movement around the city.

The manager of The Gateau House patisserie on Queen St said they had been told by health officials that a woman who recently tested positive for Covid-19 had visited their patisserie on Tuesday.

However, they had not yet been given “too much” information.

He said the woman apparently hadn’t spent much time in his store.

She said her staff who had been working Tuesday would now get tested for Covid-19 and would stay home until they got the results.

Your bakery could stay open in the meantime, but it would undergo a thorough cleaning.

“We will disinfect our area, have staff wear masks, provide hand sanitizer, follow precautions, and do our part,” he said.

The manager of the Red Pig, Yeain Nam, is waiting to find out if the restaurant can stay open.

The restaurant has a Covid-19 tracking QR code available and a login book for those who don’t have the app.

She says she’s not sure if all of the clients used the app.

Last Saturday night, the restaurant had between 60 and 80 customers, Nam says.

On busy Saturday nights, the restaurant can host up to 100 customers.

A member of staff at the Sunny Town Chinese restaurant on Lorne St said he had “just learned” that a woman who tested positive for Covid-19 had visited his restaurant.

“We are surprised,” he said.

He said health authorities had not contacted his restaurant.

Now she was ready to call her manager and plan what response the restaurant would take.

But he said his staff would seek to wear masks and potentially push restaurant tables away immediately.