Sale viewing at family’s home

Agent took potential buyers through two days before trio tested positive for virus

Areal estate agent showed three people through in a private viewing of the home where three family members later tested positive for Covid-19, it was revealed yesterday.

The viewing was at the Papatoetoe home of Cases I, J and K on Saturday before the Papatoetoe High School student and her siblings tested positive for the virus on Monday.

The schoolgirl stayed in a bedroom throughout the event, according to the Spinoff.

The viewing lasted half an hour and the agent and three visitors were all contacted by public health officials on Tuesday. They have all been tested and are awaiting their results.

The home is not seen as a location of interest as the identities of everyone present is known. However, two new locations of interest were named last night in relation to the outbreak.

Anyone at Li’l Abners Takeaway between 1-1.20am or Choice Food Bar between 1.15-1.20am (both in Papatoetoe) on February 19, are deemed casual plus contacts and must stay home and ring Healthline to get a test.

No new Covid cases were reported in the community yesterday. But the Ministry of Health reported three cases in managed isolation facilities, including one historical case.

Of the 11 positive cases linked to Auckland’s February cluster, all remain in the city quarantine facility.

Genome testing results now available for Case K, the infant, has shown it to be the B.1.1.7 variant.

“All cases that have been sequenced in this cluster are genomically linked and are connected to the cases at Papatoetoe High School,” the ministry said.

That gave further reassurance the cases from the extra household revealed on Tuesday are not from elsewhere in the community.

Three new community cases emerged on Tuesday and Kmart Botany and a nearby East Tamaki vaping shop, Dark Vapes, were announced as locations of interest.

Tuesday’s initial case was a Papatoetoe High student, Case I.

She has not been at school, but was a casual plus contact of the first Papatoetoe High case from the February cluster and had been advised to self-isolate and get tested.

Her teenage sister, Case J, recently left school and has been working at Kmart Botany, the ministry said.

Fifteen staff have been identified as “close plus” contacts of the teenage girl, who worked two shifts at Kmart Botany at the weekend.

All have been self-isolating, with eight returning a negative test so far.

“We have also been contacted by 1236 people who reported being at the store at the times of interest. They have been provided with public health advice,” the ministry said.

All have been asked to isolate for 14 days and be tested at day 5 and day 12 after their exposure to the case.

“We encourage anyone who has visited the store at the times of interest to contact Healthline. We expect this number to increase.”

The ministry said those in the close plus contact category are advised to do the same as a close contacts and to also keep their household members at home in isolation until they return a negative day 5 test.

In both cases, if the contact develops symptoms their household contacts should stay home until the contact is cleared with an extra test.

The ministry said the “close plus” label helped provide flexibility in the public health response to public exposure events.

In essence the close plus contact category is used where the risk of transmission is higher.