'Dust off those masks' - Bloomfield warns Kiwis not to be complacent about virus over long weekend

October 22, 2020
He was a bit nervous performing the task on live TV.

Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield is warning Kiwis to remain vigilant over Labour weekend as Covid-19 threatens to re-emerge in the community.

His words come after a man infected with Covid-19 recently visited an Auckland pub before later testing positive.

People who attended The Malt in Greenhithe between 7:30pm and 10pm last Friday night have been asked to get tested and self-isolate.

The Director-General of Health says Labour Weekend isn’t a time to ease off taking the virus seriously.

Bloomfield took time to remind New Zealanders to use the Covid tracer app and wear masks while travelling on public transport ahead of the long weekend.

“We do, but this virus doesn’t take breaks,” he said at today’s 1pm briefing.

Dr Ashley Bloomfield says there is very low risk for those at the major Auckland secondary school.

He also noted that COVID Tracer app usage was down to just 500,000 average scan-ins a day, from a peak of millions a day during recent alert level restrictions.

“Dust off those masks,” he said alluding to the fact people have also stopped using masks on public transport.

His comments come as there are two new imported Covid-19 cases in managed isolation in New Zealand today.

The first case arrived in the country on October 19 from the Netherlands via Dubai. The second case arrived on October 21 from Doha.

Both cases were tested upon arrival after developing symptoms during their flights, Dr Bloomfield said.

The pair are now in an Auckland quarantine facility, having been transported there from their flights.

The Ministry of Health yesterday announced 25 new confirmed cases of coronavirus - the largest spike in daily Covid-19 cases in six months.

Using the Government’s Covid Tracer App is as important as ever over the long weekend, they said.

Of that number, 23 of the cases were found at the border - 18 of those Russian and Ukrainian fishermen in quarantine in Christchurch.

The two community cases yesterday were linked to a port worker who had tested positive for the virus over the weekend.

Yesterday, labs processed 7083 tests, with the number of completed tests now totalling 1,470,994.

The number of active cases in New Zealand now stands at 58. The total number of confirmed cases is now 1558.

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