Covid 19 coronavirus: Ministry of Health supports sick work / student information provided and published

The Health Ministry remains steadfast in its actions after the public was told that a student with Covid-19 fell ill, but ended up working after speaking with her manager.

The owners of AZ Collections on High St have steadfastly denied that their employee ever told them she was sick or tried to call in sick and, through attorneys, released a student statement supporting them.

The Herald raised questions with the ministry today, even if it accepts the version of events presented by the store owners.

“The ministry defends the information it released publicly as an accurate reflection of the information that was provided,” a spokesman told the Herald.

“The ministry works quickly on the basis of the information available at the time that the public health services work to verify independently when possible.

“The most recent information does not substantially affect the public health actions that are being taken and the ministry will not comment further.”

The Auckland Regional Public Health Service (ARPHS) has been responsible for the contact tracing interviews with the student.

On Thursday, Public Health Director Dr. Caroline McElnay co-chaired a press conference with Covid Response Minister Chris Hipkins and said that after the AUT student was screened, she called in sick to work, but ended up working after talking to his manager.

A press release from the ministry repeated this information: “Now we know that this case called in sick to work after receiving the advice to isolate, but after a conversation with his manager he went to work and put on a mask.”

Auckland Mayor Phil Goff was one of many people who condemned the store’s management on social media, tweeting: “What did a store manager tell his employee to come to work despite having Covid symptoms did not understand? “

However, AZ Collections owners husband and wife Bing Wang and Mei Chen have released a statement through their attorneys, Focus Law, claiming that the employee had never told them she was ill, that she had tried to call to report that was ill or had had a Covid test.

The Herald has not been able to speak directly to the student and Focus Law says no additional interviews or statements will be given at this time.

Yesterday’s law firm statement included a statement from the student, saying that on the night of Monday, November 9, she had a sore throat and contacted her GP the next day and they recommended a Covid test.

On Wednesday, November 11, her sore throat was gone, the statement said, and she went to work wearing a mask “just to be safe.”

“I didn’t tell my boss or manager the above and didn’t ask for permission at any point. I didn’t think it was a big deal.”

According to the statement, the language barrier issues meant that ARPHS staff “made a lot of mistakes in recording my whereabouts, past actions and contacts.”

Today, the ministry spokesperson said that ARPHS had confirmed that “a Chinese-speaking nurse attended the interviews and offered to interpret, but that the case chose to speak in English.”

ARPHS processes required that an interpreter be offered in all cases if English was a second language, the ministry spokesperson said.

“The ministry once again asks the public and the media to treat with respect and kindness those who place themselves in the eye of the storm of public interest.”

A Hipkins spokesperson referred the Herald to the ministry’s statement. Goff’s office has not responded to a request for comment.

Genomic tests have linked the AUT student’s infection to a Defense Force military man who contracted the virus at the Jet Park quarantine facility near the airport.

The genomes of the military man (Case A) and the student (Case D) were identical, which is consistent with direct transmission. That does not exclude the possibility that someone else is on the chain, but officials believe the deadline means there is no long chain of transmission.

The military man ate at a cafe just 82 meters from the AZ Collections store.