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Health Minister Chris Hipkins said there is a “reasonably low risk” that a person who tested positive for Covid-19 will be contagious during a visit to an Auckland pub.
The Malt pub in Greenhithe is at the center of the situation, which has raised fears of a possible community spread of Covid-19.
The Auckland Regional Public Health Service has asked those in the pub, including the staff, between 7:30 pm and 10 pm on Friday, October 16, to isolate themselves and get tested.
A pop-up community testing center has been established in Wainoni Park on Churchouse Rd. It will be open from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm on Thursday.
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David White / Stuff
Users of Greenhithe’s The Malt were asked to isolate themselves and get tested after a person with Covid-19 visited them on October 16.
Northcare Accident and Medical at Home Place in Rosedale will also be testing between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. until October 28.
Malt’s employer who was at the pub on Friday is one of two colleagues of an Auckland harbor worker with Covid-19.
Hipkins told RNZ Morning report that the person who visited the bar on Friday was exposed to the virus that same day.
The person became symptomatic and was tested over the weekend, he added.
ROBERT KITCHEN / Things
Health Minister Chris Hipkins said that while there was a “reasonably low risk”, the Greenhithe pub case was contagious at the time, “there was no risk.”
“That would suggest reasonably low risk, but not any risk. There is no risk here. “
Hipkins said there is “no zero risk strategy” when it comes to Covid-19 and cases are expected to crop up from time to time.
“If our contact tracing systems are running fast and we can isolate people who are positive case contacts, then the need to increase alert levels shouldn’t be as necessary.”
This was “absolutely” a good example of why it mattered that people still scan their location using the Covid app.
This is an example of exposure notifications sent to NZ Covid Tracer app users who have been on a confirmed case of Covid-19.
“Scanning those QR codes, you might think it doesn’t make sense. Well, a lot of people who walked into that pub on Friday probably would have thought, ‘Oh, there’s no risk here. Well, actually it turns out that it is.
“Please keep using those QR codes.”
A bakery next to the pub has responded to the new community case by reverting to level three style restrictions.
Baked @ Greenhithe manager Darren Forbes and his staff rolled their bench to the door and donned masks Thursday morning.
George Block / Stuff
Baked @ Greenhithe is taking extra precautions following news of a case in a nearby pub.
The masked customers were taking the precautions with good humor and didn’t seem overly concerned, although the media presence outside the Greenhithe Rd bakery was a bit out of the ordinary.
“They are more nervous about all the television cameras.”
Up ahead, the Wainoni Park pop-up testing center was already dealing with a steady stream of people eager to get tested.
There were no queues, but about two dozen cars in the parking lot, with room for the same number again.
The owner of The Malt pub in Greenhithe said Stuff On Wednesday night, he and his staff had just learned of the coronavirus case.
Household members of patrons at the pub that night should also be tested and stay home if the person in the pub becomes ill or exhibits any symptoms.
“However, if the people in the pub that night become ill, even after a negative test result, they should re-isolate themselves and retest,” ARPHS added.
The health service said that people who scanned The Malt using the NZ Covid Tracer app on Friday night should receive a notification.
1 NEWS
Dr. Ashley Bloomfield announces 25 new cases of Covid-19, including 23 at the border and two linked to a dock worker.
As the typically sleepy suburban city goes into high alert, a man took it to a whole new level.
Josh, who did not give his last name, arrived at the bakery wearing a tinfoil mask and hat, which he claimed was shielding him from 5G from a nearby cell phone tower that had been causing him headaches.
When asked if he was serious, Josh confirmed that he was not.
Instead, he hoped to capture the attention of the assembled media, a rarity for Greenhithe.
David White / Stuff
Local Greenhithe Josh makes the most of the gathered media, visiting the scene wearing a tin foil hat.
On Wednesday, the Ministry of Health announced 25 new cases of Covid-19, of which two, one close and the other casual, were linked to the dock worker.
Another 18 were imported and in managed isolation in Christchurch. These people are international seafarers linked to the same group of positive cases that were reported Tuesday.
The last three were unrelated imported cases of recent returnees.
