Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield says there'll be a thorough review into how two healthcare workers contracted Covid-19 while working at a managed isolation facility in Christchurch.
Speaking to TVNZ1's Breakfast this morning, Bloomfield confirmed the first of the two cases has been genomically linked to five of the fishermen in quarantine at the Sudima Airport Hotel in Christchurch.
"That's reassuring in that it shows us, first, that the infection was from the facility, not from somewhere out in the community," he says.
"But it also points us very directly as to where to look at the specific interactions might have led to this infection."
Last night, a second worker at the managed isolation facility was also confirmed with the virus; that person is a close contact of the first person.
Both were healthcare workers where the positive Covid-19 cases are staying in quarantine at the Sudima, the Ministry of Health says.
Currently there have been 31 fishermen who have tested positive for Covid-19.
Bloomfield says the first healthcare worker's response was "fantastic".
"They received a negative test Thursday, started to feel unwell, went and got a test. That returned positive. These people are highly attuned to doing the right thing."
The person began feeling unwell on Saturday and was tested for Covid-19 on Sunday. Also on Sunday, they went to a Countdown supermarket in Christchurch.
The supermarket later closed for a deep-clean after the positive result was confirmed.
Hundreds of fishermen are isolating in the Sudima in Christchurch after being brought across from Russia and the Ukraine to work for New Zealand companies.
Bloomfield says they all initially tested negative for Covid-19 before departing for New Zealand.
He says there are two issues that can arise from pre-testing: not all cases will be caught, particularly early in the infection phase, and people can still contract Covid-19 from others whether on the flight or before they leave.
"It's useful in that if anyone returns a positive test, they won't be allowed to travel, but it doesn't rule out people still who are infected travelling on to New Zealand," Bloomfield says.
"So it doesn't change what we do here in Aotearoa."
As for the workers, Bloomfield says there are "incredibly rigorous procedures" to keep the virus from spreading.
"Every time we get a case like this, we go and do a very thorough review and investigation to find out exactly how that infection happened," he says.
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