Covid-19: Contact of Sydney case transferred to Christchurch MIQ
A person identified as a close contact of a New South Wales COVID-19 community case has been transferred to a managed isolation facility in Christchurch.
A Ministry of Health spokesperson says the person was identified by NSW health authorities as a contact of a case. The person attended a location of interest at the same time as one of the two positive cases identified in Sydney.
The contact is being tested for Covid-19 and the results will be available by tomorrow. The person is not symptomatic and local public health staff say they have cooperated fully with all requests, the spokesperson said.
Anyone in New Zealand who has been at any of the locations of interest at the specified times should contact Healthline on 0800 358 5453, immediately self-isolate and be tested. Information about locations of interest visited by the cases is available on the NSW health website: https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/Infectious/covid-19/Pages/case-locations-and-alerts.aspx
"New Zealand remains in close contact with health authorities in New South Wales (NSW) as their investigation into the two cases of COVID-19 in the Sydney community continues.
"As of this afternoon, no new locally acquired cases have been identified in NSW since the two cases were identified earlier this week. There is no further information on the epidemiological link between the community cases and the border case to whom they are genomically linked," the spokesperson said.
As a precautionary measure, Quarantine Free Travel from NSW to New Zealand was paused from 11.59pm last night and this pause remains in place.
This travel pause prevents anyone from travelling to New Zealand from NSW. It also includes anyone who has been in NSW and who plans to depart for New Zealand from another airport including Brisbane or Melbourne.
The spokesperson says they will continue to closely monitor the situation in NSW this weekend. Another update on the NSW travel pause will be provided tomorrow.
So far, 5214 people who have arrived in New Zealand from NSW since Friday last week have been contacted by health authorities and provided with advice.
A Section 70 notice has been issued under the Health Act with a number of requirements for any person who attended a location of interest. More information is available on the Ministry of Health website here: https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/diseases-and-conditions/covid-19-novel-coronavirus/covid-19-response-planning/covid-19-epidemic-notice-and-orders
