Covid 19 coronavirus: Three 'new and active' Covid cases in South Auckland

KEY POINTS
* Three community cases in South Auckland - a father, mother and daughter.
* No change to alert levels at this stage, with more information expected this evening.
* The mother works at LSG Sky Chefs in Mangere.
* The daughter goes to Papatoetoe High School which will be closed tomorrow and Tuesday.
* Two of the confirmed cases visited various locations in New Plymouth on February 6-8. It's unclear if they were infectious when they visited.
* They also visited Pak N Save Manukau on Friday February 12 for about 15 minutes, sometime between 3.45pm and 5pm.

Air New Zealand has stopped offering food and drinks on domestic flights following news today that a woman who tested positive for Covid-19 works for an airline catering company.

There are three community Covid-19 cases in South Auckland - a mother, father and daughter from Papatoetoe.

The mother works at LSG Sky Chefs in Mangere, one of the world's largest airline catering providers.

Air New Zealand Chief Customer and Sales Officer Leanne Geraghty said a decision to suspend food and drinks for the next 24 hours was made out of "an abundance of caution" while the airline awaits more information from the Ministry of Health.

"For international flights we will be providing alternative catering options until more information is known."

Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins fronted a press conference in the Beehive with director-general of health Dr Ashley Bloomfield this afternoon.

Hipkins revealed that the mother and daughter have returned tests which confirm they are "new and active".

Those test results came through late last night and Hipkins said he was told about them this morning.

There have been no changes to alert levels and New Zealand is still at alert level 1. Hipkins added more information will be available later tonight.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is flying down from Auckland this afternoon to be briefed on the situation.

At this stage, Hipkins said there were still "gaps in our knowledge" around the new cases.

For example, the source of the contraction is a "piece of the puzzle" that is needed, as well as whether it virus has been spreading.

Because of this, Hipkins said genome sequencing would be "very important."

"We are gathering all the facts as quickly as we can," he said.

The mother's main duty was within the laundry area of Sky Chefs, but she is also involved with the packing of food.

She had a negative result on January 18 but her last day at work was on February 5.

"Based on current timelines, we do not consider that she would have been at work when she was infectious," Bloomfield said.

Officials are checking the workplace to see if anyone else is Covid-19 positive.

The father is a self-employed tradesman and the daughter is a high school student at Papatoetoe High School.

The family are in the process of being moved to Jet Park.

Hipkins said Papatoetoe High School will be closed on Monday and Tuesday out of an "abundance of caution".

Papatoetoe High School principal Vaughan Couillault said the infected student is a Year 9 student who was only at school for one day last week, on Wednesday.

Couillault said the student stayed at home on Thursday and Friday after her mother became unwell. Last Monday was a holiday and he did not know why the student was not at school on Tuesday.

Five teachers and 28 students are considered close contacts of the infected student and all other students and staff at the school are "casual" contacts.

Couillault has notified all staff and parents by text and email this afternoon.

Auckland Regional Public Health is advicing students and staff who are casual contacts to isolate until they receive a negative test result.

Families of casual contacts do not need to isolate, although the families of close contacts do need to stay in isolation until they have had a negative test result.

A testing facility will be provided at the school this week.

Couillault said the student did not attend "any assemblies or anything like that" on Wednesday.

"So in terms of identification, we have probably the smallest numbers of teachers and students that we could have for a Year 9 student," he said.

It was also revealed today that over Waitangi weekend – between February 6-8 – two of the cases were in New Plymouth.

Bloomfield said there was now a process of "an ongoing period of information gathering" but, at this stage, officials were not sure if the two people were infectious during this period.

But he said pair might have been "pre-symptomatic" when they were in New Plymouth
He added that people in New Plymouth and Taranaki don't need to get tested unless they have symptoms.

More information around locations of interest will be publically released shortly.

When the Herald contacted New Plymouth deputy mayor Richard Jordan, he was unaware that two of the confirmed cases visited various locations in the city on February 6-8.

"If the system has worked and everybody has done the contact tracing that will make life a lot safer for the rest of us," he said.

There was also one case in managed isolation announced today.

One close contact of the three people in the community had tested negative, Hipkins said.

Hipkins said the message was to follow the previously announced health and safety measures.

"There is no such thing as no risk, so long as Covid-19 is out there," he said.

He said there are still "a lot of questions" that still need to be answered.

Hipkins said there has been no scheduled Cabinet meeting this evening but that could be changed quickly if needed.

Auckland Mayor Phil Goff said it was understandable to be concerned about the cases, but encouraged people to be calm and follow usual health precautions.

He told people not to get a test unless they were at a location of interest, as announced by the Ministry of Health, or were showing symptoms.

"This will help ensure that the people who need to get a test can access one," he said.

Mother works at LSG Sky Chefs

Bloomfield said the mother works at LSG in Mangere.

Her main duty was within the laundry area of Sky Chefs, but she is also involved with the packing of food.

She had a negative result on January 18.

Bloomfield said Air NZ has been briefed.

LSG Sky Chefs services at least 34 airlines around the world, according to its website, including Air New Zealand.

In August it announced it was planning to lay off about 450 staff across New Zealand as a result of the impacts of Covid-19 on the travel industry. The company had earlier claimed about $9.7m in government wage subsidies, for 841 staff.

Bloomfield said the family did all the right things. When they developed symptoms, they self-isolated.

The last time the mother was at work was on February 5.

Bloomfield said she was not infectious when she worked there but there is an investigation underway.

He said there was no risk she passed on the virus at work.

Bloomfield said the person in question was only in the Pak'nSave for a brief period on Friday.

Foodstuffs said its Pak'nSave store in Manukau will remain open, saying the Auckland Regional Public Health Service has advised the risk to staff and shoppers is reasonably low.

The public health service had advised it that a customer identified as a probably positive case of Covid-19 shopped at the Manukau store on February 12 for about 15 minutes between 3.45pm and 5pm

"While this is investigated further, we are taking the heightened precaution of requiring team members who were working in the store at the time to: isolate at home, take a test at the right time and return to work only when they have returned a negative result," said a company spokesperson.

Staff from nearby stores will provide cover at the supermarket.

Bloomfield said the only contacts identified so far were household contacts.

The mother's work does not involve her going directly onto any aircraft, Bloomfield said, but she was "interacting with the border".

He said the family might have been "pre-symptomatic" when they were in New Plymouth and Taranaki at Waitangi weekend.

Concern over Covid scanning at stores

Ōtara-Papatoetoe Local Board chairwoman Lotu Fuli urged people to follow Ministry of Health advice.

She said the only Covid testing station in the local board was at the Ōtara shopping centre, but expected other testing stations would be set up soon.

"We are concerned and we hope that people will follow all the advice," she said.

"We have been a bit slack in terms of scanning and everything else because we have been very complacent - the whole country, not just South Auckland.

"It is a concern because people live communally. In my own family we have three generations. So the potential for spread is very real."

Fuli says new Covid testing stations will be set up at Wiri as well as Papatoetoe High School, along with an existing station at the Ōtara shopping centre.

LSG Sky Chefs. Photo / File

The Government was acting with caution, Bloomfield said, and more information will be available soon.

Bloomfield said people in New Plymouth don't need to get tested unless they have symptoms.

He said Health Line has increased its workforce.

Testing centres expanded

On testing centres, a number in Auckland are having their hours extended.

Bloomfield said it's important that the right people get testing and warned people not to get a test unless they need one.

If anyone is unwell, with symptoms, he called on them not to go out.

Hipkins said his advice to anyone who was organising an event was they should talk to public health officials.

Bloomfield said the Big Gay Out event has a lot of good Covid-19 prevention protocols.

Speaking to Q&A this morning, Hipkins gave no indication another community case had been discovered.

Last Sunday, media were also called to a previously unplanned press conference at the Ministry of Health offices in Wellington.

Director of public health Caroline McElnay revealed to media that there was a community case in Hamilton – someone who had stayed at the Pullman Hotel.

They had been in isolation and the Ministry of Health believed there was no risk to public health.

The person was subsequently moved to Jet Park in Auckland.

Two new cases yesterday - one death

There were two new cases confirmed in managed isolation yesterday – both were detected on arrival.

There are 45 active cases of Covid-19 in New Zealand – all in quarantine.

The ministry also revealed yesterday that one person with Covid-19 died in North Shore Hospital.

The patient was transferred from a Managed Isolation Facility into hospital-level care for the treatment of a serious non-Covid-19 related condition on 5 February.

This person subsequently returned a positive result for Covid-19 following their admission. This positive result has been reported previously.

But the death was not been included in the official Covid related deaths, "at this stage", the Ministry said, adding that more information would be provided on Monday.

Meanwhile, the Government is looking at administering the Covid-19 vaccine at people's workplaces in the same way they are given the annual flu jab at work.

This, according to Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins, would help the Government reach a greater number of people quicker.

Speaking to Q&A this morning, Hipkins said the flu system where many people are given the jab at work, has worked well in the past.

"We are going to look to use those same networks again with the Covid vaccine," he said.

"So if you already have people come to your workplace to do flu vaccines every year, if we can get them doing the Covid vaccine through the same mechanism, it will help us to reach people more quickly."