Covid 19 coronavirus: Up to 60 MIQ workers still not being tested regularly
14 Apr, 2021 04:07 AM
4 minutes to read
PM Jacinda Ardern says the security guard who tested positive to Covid-19 lied about being tested. Video / Mark Mitchell
PM Jacinda Ardern says the security guard who tested positive to Covid-19 lied about being tested. Video / Mark Mitchell
Derek Cheng is a political reporter for the New Zealand Heraldderek.cheng@nzme.co.nz
Up to 60 MIQ workers might be floating around their communities without being regularly tested, but Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins says the risk is very low .
The surveillance testing of MIQ workers has come under intense scrutiny today after revelations that a Grand Millennium security guard - Case B - wasn t tested for six months, even though he was meant to be tested fortnightly.
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Case B, a 24-year-old, was meant to undergo mandatory fortnightly testing. But according to Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) chief executive Carolyn Tremain, who spoke to the Health Select Committee, the security staffer was last tested for COVID-19 in November.
As it has been nearly five months, Case B has missed at least seven tests.
The Government claims Case B told First Security, his employer, he was being tested - even though he wasn t.
The Government doesn t know how many workers have missed mandatory tests. We don t know the exact number, said MBIE deputy chief executive Megan Main.