Covid 19 coronavirus: a gym attendant with a virus works in the quarantine facilities of the Jet Park Hotel

By Amy Williams, RNZ

The person who attended three fitness classes in Auckland before testing positive for Covid-19 is a healthcare worker at the country’s only quarantine hotel.

The Health Ministry said the worker was likely to contract the virus at the Jet Park hotel near Auckland Airport, but exactly how health officials are investigating him.

Authorities have urged 89 close contacts who attended classes on September 9 and 10 in Les Mills de Takapuna to isolate themselves and get tested.

The person also visited The Warehouse and Countdown in Milford on Thursday, September 10.

There are now 177 cases in the Auckland group, and tomorrow health authorities will be able to confirm whether any of the gym’s close contacts have tested positive.

Les Mills owner Phillip Mills said they follow the Exercise NZ guidelines and more.

Fans are off, saunas are closed, fountains are forbidden, and classes are limited to 100 people who must be kept 2 meters apart.

“We have worked in great detail to make it safe to enter the gyms, from having methacrylate shields in front of the receptionist, all staff wearing masks and having methacrylate shields between the machines,” he said.

“We really have security measures that are as good as any other business in the country, probably better than most. We think this is very important and it is crucial that people exercise.”

Of the close contacts who attended classes at Takapuna Gym this past Wednesday and Thursday, 20 were in the Sprint class, while 69 attended Bodycombat.

They have been urged to get tested and isolate themselves.

Mills said teachers in the class were among those who isolated themselves.

“We have suggested that people wear masks if they wish and I think that would be perhaps the next step for the government. We will see how this one goes.”

The ministry has yet to confirm how many of the 89 close contacts have been contacted and are isolated.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said routine tests of the quarantine and managed isolation workers found the healthcare worker had Covid-19.

According to the Ministry of Health, the worker has five contacts in the home, all of whom gave negative test results.

A spokesperson for managed isolation and quarantine said that sanitation workers at all managed isolation facilities, including Jet Park, did not have access to the hotel’s gyms.

“We give them guidance on how to stay safe outside of work, including asking them to keep records of their movements and close contacts (like all New Zealanders) while they are not at work, and when they finish work so they can shower and change clothes. before returning. to their loved ones, “they said in a statement.

“With all of these precautions in place, the risks have been assessed as minimal, so they and their partners / spouses and children can follow their normal routines depending on the current alert level restrictions. That includes exercise.”

Those still heading to Les Mills in Takapuna today weren’t exactly sweating from the Covid risk, telling RNZ they felt confident about the gym’s safety measures.