New Zealand health authorities say there is a “clear link” between a new community COVID-19 case in Auckland and the country’s border.
The Ministry of Health has revealed a number of new details about the positive case and its origins.
“Following interviews with the person who has today returned a positive test for COVID-19, the Ministry of Health believes there is a clear link to the border as the source of the infection,” they said in a statement.
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So, who is the new COVID case and how did they acquire the infection?
The case is actually a cleaner at Auckland International Airport whose job requires them to clean planes that “have flown internationally from countries where COVID-19 is widespread”.
As part of routine testing, they had to undergo a COVID test on Monday which returned a positive result on Tuesday.
The person has previously tested negative for the virus and is currently isolating at home before they are to be transferred to the Auckland quarantine facility.
“So far, we have identified that the person has 16 close contacts,” the Ministry of Health said.
“This number will likely change as further scoping of this person’s movements identifies other people they have been in close contact with.”
Five household contacts have returned negative test results and authorities are in the process of identifying close contacts the case worked alongside.
The ministry confirmed their work at Auckland Airport is not public-facing and is their sole employment.
“Additional pop up testing has been set up at Auckland Airport this afternoon – this is in addition to the testing site that is already running at the airport,” they said.
Casual contacts
People who visited three locations on Saturday, April 17 have been identified as casual contacts.
These are people who were in Westfield St Luke’s food court from 12.15pm to 2.30pm, Bunnings New Lynn 2.30pm to 3.50pm and Movenpick Dominion Road from 5.15pm to 7.20pm.
Anyone who was at these spots during those times is being advised to monitor their health and watch out for symptoms.
The ministry also reassured people that the person had been fully vaccinated, receiving two doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine which has a 95 per cent effectiveness.
They did acknowledge that a small number may not be protected, adding that breakthrough infections do occur in any vaccines.
There should be whole-genome sequencing available on Wednesday which will provide more information on how the infection has occurred.
“A final note of thanks to this person – they, like many others at our border, have worked in an environment during this pandemic that has exposed them to the virus that we have collectively worked so hard to keep out,” the ministry said.