Coronavirus: Wellington café shuts doors, owners speak out

The Wellington café an Australian tourist visited before testing positive for coronavirus is closing indefinitely, despite health officials' advice.

On its Facebook page, Milk Crate's owners said they were informed that Andre Reynaud, the seventh confirmed case of Covid-19 in New Zealand, visited their café over the weekend.

"We at Milk Crate are taking the COVID-19 situation extremely seriously and were informed that the man with coronavirus that flew to New Zealand from Australia came into our café over the weekend." they wrote.

"Health officials have assured us that the risk of the virus spreading on this occasion is very low, and we've been given the all-clear to continue trading from the Wellington Regional DHB, but we feel we have a duty of care to our staff and our community and have elected to shut and take extra precautions.

Andre Reynaud, in his 60s, travelled from Townsville to New Zealand before he was informed of his positive coronavirus test results.

"If you were in the café on Saturday between the hours of 11am and 11.30am and believe you may have had close and prolonged contact with the man, we strongly encourage you to phone Healthline on 0800 358 5453.

"We are doing all we can to manage this complex situation proactively and ask that you be patient. Your support has kept this café going for 15 years, and we thank you for your custom and understanding.

"We will reopen only when we are absolutely certain it is safe to do so and look forward to seeing you then."

We at Milk Crate are taking the COVID-19 situation extremely seriously and were informed that the man with coronavirus...

Posted by Milk Crate on Sunday, 15 March 2020

Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield confirmed Reynaud was the seventh case in New Zealand - and that an eighth case had been diagnosed in Queenstown.

Bloomfield did not identify Reynaud by name but said he arrived on Air NZ flight 828 from Brisbane to Wellington.

Reynaud told the Herald he had returned to Townsville from France via Australia on Tuesday, March 10, and was not showing any signs of illness.

He was tested by Queensland Health officials on Thursday because he had been abroad.

Reynaud said he received a phone call on Saturday morning from his doctor confirming he had tested positive for coronavirus.

"I am currently in self-isolation in the hotel in Wellington," he told the Herald.

"I went to meet my son for breakfast at a nearby cafe when I got a call from my doctor confirming I tested positive.

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"From there I went straight back to my hotel room and got in contact with health authorities.

"I wouldn't have come [to New Zealand] if I knew I was positive."