A Wellington cafe has closed its doors after it was visited by an Australian man who tested positive for coronavirus.
The man in his 60s flew from Brisbane and arrived in Wellington on Air New Zealand flight NZ828 at 12.05am on March 14.
The man was unwell while in Australia but was symptom-free when he arrived in the country. He had been tested for Covid-19 and was awaiting his results when he made the decision to fly - a decision which has been strongly criticised by the Ministry of Health.
Director General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield gave an update on Covid-19 in New Zealand after two more confirmed cases brought the national total to eight on March 16.
Today, a Wellington cafe the man visited released a statement on Facebook warning customers who may have come into contact with the man, also announcing it would be closing for a time as a precaution.
"We at Milk Crate are taking the Covid-19 situation extremely seriously and were informed that the man with coronavirus that flew to New Zealand from Australia came into our café over the weekend.
"Health officials have assured us that the risk of the virus spreading on this occasion is very low, and we’ve been given the all clear to continue trading from the Wellington Regional DHB, but we feel we have a duty of care to our staff and our community and have elected to shut and take extra precautions.
Tough restrictions on those entering New Zealand will impact the tourism industry.
"If you were in the café on Saturday between the hours of 11:00am and 11:30am and believe you may have had close and prolonged contact with the man, we strongly encourage you to phone Healthline on 0800 358 5453," part of the statement reads.
Milk Crate says it will reopen when it's safe to do so.
The man now remains in isolation with his partner in Wellington.
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