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Mezze Bar was back online after an unwanted public health call.
“They said we have bad news and we have had a case of COVID,” says owner Sally Hindmarsh.
Mezze Bar was forced to cancel reservations and clear six tables of people in the middle of dinner last night.
“Every minute we are closed is a blow and we have already suffered it, you know with all the closures.
Seven staff members were on duty when the last case ate dinner alone while infectious on Thursday between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.
“Go through the sterilizer, clean every chair, every table, every wall, even the windows.”
The visitor also went to Liquor.com on Queen Street for 15 minutes around 1:30 pm.
The case is a worker at the Jet Park quarantine facility and it is the seventh time the virus has crossed our borders in just three months.
“I think this latest case continues with a pattern of border failures,” says epidemiologist Professor Michael Baker.
The staff member tested negative on Wednesday, but developed symptoms the next day.
Twenty-five people have been identified as close contacts of the worker, six of whom have already tested negative. Fewer than 20 people received an alert from the COVID Tracer app, reminding Kiwis to scan wherever they go.
The New Zealand Nurses Organization is not surprised by the latest case.
He says quarantine facilities are understaffed and basic things like masks don’t fit properly.
“That is something we look forward to at orientation and we were very surprised and disappointed to find that this does not actually happen with all workers,” says Kate Weston of the New Zealand Nurses Organization.
And so close to Christmas, some kiwis are worried.
“Maybe things should be more controlled,” said one.
“Yeah yeah, a little worried,” said another.
“I’m surprised we made it so long.”
But Professor Baker says it would take a lot to get us back into lockdown.
“Right now, where we have a very well defined border fault, a single health worker and they were detected very quickly. That is a really optimistic situation.”
So for now, it’s a glass half full for kiwis and businesses like Mezze Bar.
