Covid 19 coronavirus: man breaches quarantine on Rarotonga by handing over phone after flying from Auckland

A man who flew from Auckland to Rarotonga broke the quarantine by handing his phone to his daughter for a new SIM card.

The man and his wife flew in from New Zealand, arrived in Rarotonga on October 9, and went into quarantine.

But the man gave his phone to his daughter, who then took it to Vodafone to get her a new SIM card.

The Cook Islands Health Secretary, Dr. Increa Herman, did not hold back in expressing her frustration at the rape.

“While it’s easy to say that this latest violation shouldn’t have happened, people can be selfish and it seems like what happened this morning was a very elaborate and thoughtful action.”

Properties where people are quarantined for two weeks are being monitored 24 hours a day. In addition, returnees receive instructions on the quarantine order at Auckland airport before leaving New Zealand, as well as a briefing from the police and Te Marae Ora health ministry upon arrival in the Cook Islands.

“Selfish behavior like this undermines the good work of many and will one day result in a Covid-19 outbreak in the Cook Islands. This behavior must stop,” Herman said.

The husband and wife tested negative for Covid-19 twice in the last two weeks and the last test was on Thursday.

Te Marae Ora said that the public health risk to Vodafone staff was extremely low.

“I am incredibly grateful for the swift actions of the diligent Vodafone staff who, through their thorough questioning and attention to detail, discovered the violation,” Herman said.

The two Vodafone staff members who gave the alert tested negative and were allowed to return to work.

Prime Minister Mark Brown this month expressed his hopes for the possibility of unqualified travel between the Cook Islands and New Zealand, once there has been no community transmission here for 28 days.

However, with the case on Saturday of a dockworker testing positive for Covid-19, Brown said quarantine arrangements would remain in place for those flying to Rarotonga from Auckland on Air New Zealand’s weekly flights.