Quick guide to Auckland's Covid-19 cluster: Who's who in Cases A to O

March 1, 2021
There were still long delays for travellers as police checked where drivers were heading this morning.

There are now 15 Covid-19 cases in four families connected to the Auckland February cluster in Papatoetoe.

The first cases of the cluster were announced on February 14. All have the UK variant — B.1.1.7 — of Covid-19. 

The list of locations and times cases had been when potentially infectious is on the Ministry of Health website . Instructions for people who were at those places at those times are also listed on that page.

FAMILY 1: (FOUR MEMBERS) 

Case A: Year 9 student at Papatoetoe High School

The Year 9 student attended Papatoetoe High School for one day on February 10 while infectious. She was tested after she reported symptoms for Covid-19. 

She has been labelled Case A by officials as she reported experiencing symptoms earlier than her mother, Case B.

Case B: Mother who works at LSG Sky Chefs

Health authorities believe Case B, who worked at the laundry area of LSG Sky Chefs in Māngere, may be the index case of this outbreak. However, health authorities have not yet been able to determine how exactly she was infected. 

Case B was tested after experiencing Covid-19 symptoms, and not as part of routine testing of border workers. At the time, she had not been at work since February 5. 

An LSG Sky Chef worker was one of the first people in the latest cluster to test positive for the coronavirus.

All employees at LSG Sky Chefs subsequently tested negative. 

Case C: Father in his 40s

This person was reported as a positive case later on the day that Case A and B had been reported. Up until then, he was asymptomatic. 

Case A, B and C were all reported as cases on February 14. They have since recovered from Covid-19.

The additional member of this household tested negative for Covid-19. 

FAMILY 2: (FIVE MEMBERS)

Case D: Classmate of Case A at Papatoetoe High School

Year 9 Papatoetoe High School student Case D, a close contact of Case A after being in the same classroom as her, tested positive on February 17. 

Case E: Sibling of Case D, Year 12 at Papatoetoe High School

Case E, a sibling of Case D, was reported as a positive case on February 17. He also attended Papatoetoe High School and is in Year 12. 

Case F, G and H are household contacts of Cases D and E. They include the mother, father and teenage sibling of Cases D and E. The cases were already at the Auckland quarantine facility when they tested positive for the virus. 

It was later revealed the mother of this household, before testing positive for Covid-19, had contact with Case N. This was not disclosed to contact tracers during initial interviews with the family. It is unclear whether the information was deliberately withheld or if it was an oversight. 

FAMILY 3: (SIX MEMBERS)

Case I: Year 10 at Papatoetoe High School 

Case I, a Year 10 Papatoetoe High School student, was a casual plus contact of Case A, the first Covid-19 case at the school. This case was reported on February 23. 

Case J: Kmart employee

Case J is a sibling of Case I, and worked at Kmart and visited Dark Vapes in East Tamaki while potentially infectious on February 19 and 20. At the time, households connected to Papatoetoe High School were meant to stay at home.

But, initial advice said only Case I as a casual-plus contact was required to isolate, and not the entire household. 

Case K: Infant sibling of Case I

This case was also reported on February 23. They did not attend a childcare facility outside of their home. 

Case L: KFC employee

Case L was a member of the household and worked at KFC while potentially infectious between February 22 and 23 — when they were meant to be isolating.

An employee at the restaurant worked a shift there on Monday, when the person should have been isolating, health officials said.

They initially returned a negative test upon arrival in Auckland’s quarantine facility on February 23, but later tested positive. 

Case O: Household contact in Auckland quarantine facility 

Case O tested positive for Covid-19 on February 28 while already in a quarantine facility. They first became symptomatic on February 27. 

Because they were already in quarantine since February 23 during their infectious period, there were no new locations of interest announced and no further risk to the wider public. 

They were labelled "O" because they tested positive after Case N. 

One other member of this household had not tested positive for Covid-19. 

FAMILY 4: (FIVE MEMBERS)

Case M: 21-year-old MIT student

Case M, 21, is a sibling of a Papatoetoe High School student who tested negative for the virus three times. 

The case was reported on February 27. They visited a number of locations while potentially infectious. This included a gym visit while awaiting the results of a Covid-19 test. 

Case M began to develop symptoms on February 22 and sought a test on February 26.

Case N: Mother of Case M

Case N, a woman in her 40s and the mother of case M, also tested positive on February 27. 

Genome sequencing showed Cases M and N were most closely linked to the second family connected to the Papatoetoe outbreak. 

Case M was infected as a result of family member’s secret level 3 contact with another infected family, Jacinda Ardern said.

The epidemiological link was not determined until later interviews with the family. It was revealed Case N went for a walk together with the mother of the second family during Auckland’s three-day Alert Level 3 lockdown. 

The three other members of the household had tested negative for Covid-19.

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