Covid 19 coronavirus: two new cases, in managed isolation

There are two new cases of Covid-19 in managed isolation.

The first case reported today arrived on October 31 from Singapore and tested positive around day 3 of his stay in controlled isolation.

The second case was detected in controlled isolation in Auckland, after he was granted permission to reunite with a family member recently arrived from abroad. The family member has been previously registered in our positive case totals. Today’s case will be recorded as an import related case.

Eight previously reported cases are now considered to have recovered, meaning that the total number of active New Zealand cases is now 67. All cases related to the outbreak from the shipping company are now recovered.

Health workers

Two healthcare workers at the Christchurch Airport-based Hotel Sudima tested positive for Covid-19 this week.

“The teams are doing detailed work to determine the exact source of infection for the two workers at the managed isolation facility in Christchurch, although genome sequencing of the first reported case indicates that the virus lineage is the same as that of five of the international sailors at the facility, “the Health Ministry said today.

“This includes case interviews and second case genome sequencing.

“All the contacts for the two cases have been followed up and tested. All the results that we have obtained to date are negative, with a small number pending.

“All the staff who worked at the Sudima Hotel since October 23rd have been evaluated and all the results we have returned are negative. At this stage we have not identified any more cases related to these staff members, but we continue with continuous monitoring of his contacts and other personnel in Sudima. All his close contacts remain isolated. “

International fishermen

The facility where the couple worked is home to hundreds of Russian and Ukrainian sailors who were transferred to New Zealand to work in our fisheries.

To date, 31 men have fallen ill with Covid-19 since arriving in Christchurch.

Chief Health Officer Dr Ashley Bloomfield said yesterday that the crew members were likely to have come into contact with the virus after being tested in their homeland and during the flight to New Zealand.

The men, who have already spent more than two weeks in controlled isolation, are now allowed to leave the facility until at least tomorrow as a precaution. This is still under review while investigations continue.

Genomic tests had linked the first health worker, a woman in her 50s, with a strain of infection from five of the sick international sailors.

Genomic results for the second infected healthcare worker, a woman in her 20s who is a close work contact with the Covid-positive woman, were expected to be released today.

There are three close household contacts connected to the two women at the center of the latest broadcast scare, including a teenage girl attending Cashmere High School, and all are isolated at home.

With a new community outbreak in Garden City, Cantabrians have lined up at the test stations. An additional site has been established at Princess Margaret Hospital to meet the demand.

Yesterday, health officials urged people who had shopped at The Chemist Warehouse on Friday afternoon to get tested after the second woman to test positive for Covid was revealed to have been shopping at South City Mall. while she was asymptomatic.

However, because the woman was in the store for about 10 minutes and had no close contact with other people during her time there, the visit was considered very low risk and a casual exposure event.

Health officials said there were 1,615 confirmed cases in New Zealand.