Covid 19 coronavirus: Te Atatū and New Lynn Countdown stores shut

Countdown supermarket at LynnMall has been closed for cleaning after two visits by a person who later tested positive for Covid-19. Photo / File

Two West Auckland supermarkets have been shut for cleaning after being visited by a person who was later found to have coronavirus.

Countdown general manager of health and safety Kiri Hannifin said the person visited Countdown in Te Atatū South on August 12 between 3pm and 4pm, and Countdown in LynnMall on August 16 between 4pm and 5pm and again on August 17 between 6.30pm and 7.30pm.

Both stores have closed this afternoon for cleaning.

"We have been contacted by the Auckland Regional Public Health Service this afternoon about visits by a person to two of our Countdown supermarkets in Auckland in the last week, who has unfortunately now been found to have Covid-19," Hannifin said.

"The Ministry of Health has advised us that these visits are deemed low risk and casual contact exposures.

"We are now going through our own processes, including closing both stores to deep clean them as an extra precaution. We have rigorous cleaning and hygiene practices in place in all of our stores, as well as strong physical distancing measures since the change of alert levels on Wednesday August 12.

"We reiterate to customers the importance of using the NZ Covid tracker app when visiting a Countdown store."

Hannifin said the stores "will likely reopen tonight depending on how long the clean takes and when they would normally close on a Saturday".

The duty manager at the LynnMall store said that store would reopen at 6am on Sunday.

It is not known whether the visitor was one of the six new Covid-19 cases reported today - four linked to the main Auckland cluster and two which are still being investigated.

There are nine people in hospital. Two people are in Auckland City Hospital, four people in Middlemore, two people in North Shore Hospital and one person in Waikato Hospital.

Six people are stable on a ward, and three people in Middlemore are in ICU.