One of infected mariners has Delta variant of Covid-19

July 8, 2021
The Viking Bay signed on two infected crew who'd flown to Auckland on Monday and were then driven to join the ship in New Plymouth.

One of the infected mariners to test positive for Covid-19 on Tuesday has the Delta variant, the Ministry of Health says.

It said this had been revealed through whole genome sequencing and is not connected to any cases in New Zealand. 

The ministry also said it was not clear which port the Viking Bay — the vessel the mariners are on — would return to.

Fifteen of the 20 crew members, which include the two infected mariners, are expected to go into MIQ upon the vessel's return to New Zealand.

"This will likely be a facility at the port they return to. There are no managed isolation or quarantine facilities in New Plymouth so at this stage it is considered unlikely they will return to Port Taranaki.

"New Zealand Customs and other agencies are working on the operational details of the boat’s return."

The ministry also said a second foreign-owned fishing vessel operating from New Zealand had contacted authorities and declared a number of crew have reported flu-like symptoms. 

This vessel has requested to dock in New Zealand, it said.

"The ship will undergo the usual pratique declarations (quarantine clearance) and the situation assessed by the local public health unit.

The crew of the Viking Bay was meant to dock so they could isolate – but the port says it doesn’t want to put staff and the community at risk.

"The vessel is outside our territorial waters and presents no immediate risk to New Zealand. This situation will be updated by Customs as more information comes to hand."

Meanwhile, one new case was detected at the border today.

The person had arrived from Russia on July 6. This brings New Zealand's total number of active cases to 41. 

The country's total number of cases is 2408. 

Yesterday, five cases were announced at the border, which included the two mariners who earlier tested positive. 

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