Alert level call today; 2 new cases
AUCKLAND: Ministers will meet today to decide the alert level fate of New Zealand, following two new cases of Covid19 yesterday — including a worker at the Jet Park Hotel in Auckland.
The other confirmed case is an overseas returnee in managed isolation.
The Jet Park case is a healthcare worker and is the first positive test there in the five and ahalf months since the quarantine facility became operational.
Prevention controls, including the use of personal protective equipment, are now being reviewed.
At present Auckland, the centre of the current outbreak, is at Alert Level ‘‘2.5’’, with a stricter social gatherings limit of 10 people except for funerals and tangi, which allow 50 people.
The rest of the country is at Level 2, where social gatherings of up to 100 people are permitted.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern will announce Cabinet’s decision at 1pm from Dunedin.
Any changes to the alert levels will not take effect until after 11.59pm on Wednesday.
On Saturday the Ministry of Health announced two community cases, both of which had an epidemiological link to an existing case.
They were both associated with the bereavement events subcluster that is epidemiologically linked to the Mt Roskill Evangelical Fellowship group.
One of the cases was a pupil at Sunnyvale School in Henderson. They were not infectious when they last attended school and the Auckland Regional Public Health Service has not identified any close contacts among the school community. The school remains open and safe for pupils and staff to attend.
On Saturday, the Auckland Regional Public Health Service listed places visited by a Covidpositive person, including three classes at Les Mills Takapuna.
People who attended those classes — a 5.30pm RPM Sprint class and 6.15pm Body Combat class on September 9, and a 9.15am Body Combat class on September 10 — are considered close contacts and should stay at home and contact Healthline as soon as possible.
Others at the gym at the same time but not in those classes are casual contacts and are being asked to get tested.
Public health experts have urged caution in easing restrictions, with University of Otago epidemiologist Prof Michael Baker saying that silent transmission outside known clusters was a ‘‘real possibility’’.
Auckland University professor Shaun Hendy, whose team has been modelling Covid19 for the Government, said uncertainty remained around the group of cases linked to the Mt Roskill Evangelical Fellowship Church.
The Ministry of Health said 98% of the church congregation had now been retested, as had 98% of the subcluster linked to a series of bereavement events.
On Saturday 7211 tests were processed.
Three people were in hospital, including two in ICU, and the number of active cases was 97.
Of those, 39 were imported cases in managed isolation and quarantine (MIQ) facilities, and 58 were community cases.
Head of MIQ Air Commodore Darryn Webb said the Jet Park health worker did not work at any other site.
The MIQ team was now reviewing staffing logs, swipecard data and CCTV footage to map the health worker’s movements in recent days.
Five household contacts linked to the worker are in isolation at home and are being tested.
Genome sequencing results are expected today.
‘‘This case is still being investigated to determine if the infection came from the community or from within the quarantine facility, though at this stage no obvious links to other cases in the community have been established,’’ the Health Ministry said.
‘‘Staff at the facility regarded as close contacts have been stood down and a deep clean of staff areas at the facility has been completed.’’
All staff at the quarantine facility are being retested, which is expected to be completed by the end of today.
On Saturday, Directorgeneral of health Dr Ashley Bloomfield and Ministry for Pacific Peoples chief executive Laulu Mac Leauanae addressed the issue of misinformation during a Facebook Live address.
Dr Bloomfield said New Zealand would have seen 3500 deaths, 20% of which would have been of healthcare workers, if New Zealand had followed the strategy that was used in the UK.
So far New Zealand has had 24 deaths from Covid19. — The New Zealand Herald