Suspected case of virus in Auckland Hospital

AUCKLAND: A person is being held in isolation with the first suspected case of coronavirus in New Zealand.

Directorgeneral of Health Ashley Bloomfield yesterday confirmed a patient in Auckland City Hospital was being tested for the new virus which has killed more than 200 in China.

The results are expected today. ‘‘They have a special isolation room in the hospital and it has what’s called a ‘negative pressure ventilation’. That basically stops the possibility of the virus being carried out in the air,’’ Dr Bloomfield said.

The person is thought to have come forward themselves and Dr Bloomfield encouraged anyone else with symptoms to do the same.

The announcement came after a meeting of the Government’s top executives, the Officials Committee for Domestic and External Security Coordination, at the Beehive yesterday afternoon.

Dr Bloomfield said officials were still hammering out the details of a possible evacuation of New Zealanders from the city of Wuhan — the centre of China’s coronavirus outbreak.

The Government on Thursday revealed it was chartering an Air New Zealand flight to bring home Kiwis caught in the lockdown in the region, and Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has confirmed more than 100 have asked to come home.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade has announced that New Zealanders, Pacific Islanders and Australians will be eligible to take the flight, but must have the correct documentation and pass the health assessments.

Permanent New Zealand residents who are also Chinese citizens may not be allowed on the flight.

But details remain sparse, with no decisions announced about when the flight may happen, where and how those brought back may be quarantined or whether permission has been granted by the Chinese Government.

Passengers who get on the Air New Zealand evacuation flight from Wuhan will be charged $500.

While the World Health Organisation yesterday declared the coronavirus outbreak a public health emergency of international concern, the Ministry of Health says the announcement does not mean there will be any changes to New Zealand’s current efforts.

‘‘What it does is it emphasises and endorses the actions New Zealand has taken to date,’’ Dr Bloomfield told reporters.

‘‘We have acted very much in line with the WHO advice.’’

There would be no urgent changes to how flights arriving from areas hit by the outbreak were being screened or travel restrictions, Dr Bloomfield said.

He said the virus appeared to be less deadly than initially thought and not highly contagious.

Currently only passengers on direct flights from China are being screened.

National Party health spokesman Michael Woodhouse has called for more to be done.

‘‘[Screening] needs to be broadened to include all passengers who have travelled from or through affected countries,’’ he said.

‘‘Another step the Government should be seriously considering is screening passengers arriving on cruise ships who have been through affected countries.’’

But Dr Bloomfield defended the response as ‘‘appropriate, effective and in line with the pandemic place we have in place’’.

The Government yesterday also confirmed testing for the coronavirus could now be done in New Zealand, with ESR saying it could provide results within 24 hours.

Meanwhile, an Auckland pharmacy which was selling face masks for $30 each — almost 10 times their normal price — has being accused of making profit from fear amid coronavirus hysteria.

There is a shortage of respirators, face masks and hand sanitiser nationwide, with big brands soldout online and in many stores.

The Royal Oak 7 Day Urgent Pharmacy has been selling the N95 masks for $30 each and boxes of 50 for $1500, while a pharmacy across the road sold them for $3.50. — The New Zealand Herald