August 12, 2020
Netcast wider for COVID outbreak
Health officials are using genome sequencing to try to identify the source of the COVID-19 outbreak in a South Auckland family.
Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield says different infections can be linked by looking at the RNA of the virus, such as whether it came through an isolation and quarantine facility or whether it was by some other route.
In addition to the four family members added to the tally yesterday, there were four probable cases identified among their contacts.
Contact tracing for those people is underway.
As New Zealand’s national health officer, Dr Bloomfield issued a self-isolation order to employees, contractors, and visitors to employees and contractors of Americold in Mount Wellington; and the Dominion Road branch of Finance Now, or people who have visited those premises in the past 14 days.
However, he says officials are confident a visit by some of the family members to Rotorua over the weekend poses a low risk to others.
Anyone who was in the vicinity should pay extra attention to their health and stay at home if they become unwell and seek medical advice to get a test.
The family stayed at the Wai Ora Lakeside hotel from August 8 to 11 and visited the Skyline Gondola and Lodge on Sunday afternoon and the Heritage Farm and Art Gallery on Monday afternoon.
There was another confirmed case yesterday in managed isolation, a woman in her 50s who arrived in New Zealand on August 7 from Islamabad via Dubai.
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