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“Both this case, as the one reported on Monday, came into contact with international sailors in the performance of their duties, including some of the 31 sailors who tested positive for COVID-19 and remain in quarantine,” he said.
“The individual was examined as part of routine testing for staff at the facility and tested negative on Thursday, October 29. They are asymptomatic and were re-examined after being identified as a close work contact for the case reported Monday and a positive result The result was received today. “
The person is now in isolation at home and a transfer to a managed isolation facility is being arranged.
“The initial assessment is that there are only two close contacts from this current case, both domestic contacts, both are being tested and both are isolated at home.”
The Health Ministry does not warn of the need to change its current approach at this stage, he said, as both cases have a limited number of contacts and the incident is “currently well contained.”
The first of the Russian and Ukrainian sailors who were supposed to complete their administered isolation on Tuesday morning has had his stay extended for “at least another 48 hours” as a precautionary measure.
These precautionary measures include additional tests, up to four tests for some people, and a prolonged stay in controlled isolation, the Health Ministry said.
Genome sequencing of the case announced Monday is not expected to be completed until tonight and will be reported on Wednesday.
More details of the case, if available, and actions taken in response, will be provided on Wednesday in the 1pm update from the Ministry of Health.
On Tuesday, during the daily update, Chief Health Officer Dr. Ashley Bloomfield said three lineages of the virus had been found in eight of the sailors by genome sequencing.
He also reminded the Kiwis that while there is great public interest in each individual case here, “the virus is the problem, the people are the solution.”
