Covid 19 coronavirus: Man in managed isolation at Rydges Hotel alarmed at mistake made about confirmed virus case

A returning Kiwi in managed isolation at Auckland's Rydges hotel was alarmed to learn a positive case of Covid in the hotel yesterday was an error.

The man who doesn't want to be identified arrived from the United States the day after Auckland went into alert level 3.

Yesterday morning as he left the hotel for a walk around 11am he was stopped by a security guard and was told to go to his room because the hotel was going into lockdown.

The man later received a letter confirming a case of Covid -19 was detected at the hotel.

The letter stated, "This is to be expected in a small number of travellers returning from overseas."

Guests were advised to remain in their rooms temporarily while the communal areas in the hotel were cleaned and advised they would be contacted if they were considered a close contact.

Any confirmed cases would be sent to quarantine until the guests would isolate in their rooms and adhere to physical distancing.

The letter stated that any risk of Covid-19 exposure within the hotel is still "very low, and regular health checks and Covid-19 checks would continue. If guests were unwell, they were advised to stay in their rooms and call nursing staff on site.

Yesterday afternoon The Ministry of Health said in a statement there were 13 new confirmed cases of Covid –19, 12 in the community and one in managed isolation.

"The case in managed isolation is a child who arrived in New Zealand on August 3 from Afghanistan via Dubai. They have been in managed isolation at the Pullman hotel and tested negative around day 3 of their stay, then positive around day 12 of their stay.

They have been transferred to the Auckland quarantine facility," the statement said.

The man was surprised the case of Covid at Rydges wasn't mentioned at the press conference.

He told the NZ Herald two more letters arrived at 3.30pm saying a deep clean had been completed in the communal areas and guests were now able to move about the hotel to exercise and smoke outdoors.

"It was afternoon tea time. The last letter thanked us for our co-operation and understanding during this time. 'We have confirmed that the confirmed Covid case is not currently at Rydges'."

Despite the hiccup, the man is grateful to be back in New Zealand. He can book for walks on the hotel ramp and rooftop or take a bus to the wharf.

The hotel resident has also got used to two types of door knocks. One from the nurse who takes his daily temperature and the other is room service.

"The food has been great. I've had Caesar salad for lunch and delicious salmon for dinner, the staff have been incredibly nice and helpful. I am so pleased to be here - the States is broken. I actually feel very positive about how I have been treated from the moment I landed in Auckland. Frankly, I'd rather we were overly cautious than not."