Hunt for virus hotel guests in NSW as travel bubble set to return
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NSW Health is hunting down people who were guests of an Auckland hotel where a highly transmissible coronavirus variant is believed to have circulated as Australia is expected to reinstate its travel bubble with New Zealand this weekend.
After tracking down seven people who stayed at the Auckland Pullman between December 30 and January 13, NSW Health said it was contacting others who had arrived in Sydney after staying at the hotel on January 24. Additional cases have been linked to the hotel this week.
Guest at New Zealand Covid quarantine hotel given police warning after liaison with worker
The Covid response minister said the pair s behavior was totally unacceptable and he d asked for a thorough inquiry
The Grand Millenium hotel in central Auckland, New Zealand
Credit: Sylvie Whinray/New Zealand Herald via AP
The woman who took a flight back to New Zealand was supposed to avoid all physical contact with others for 14 days as she went into mandatory quarantine. The man working at the quarantine hotel was supposed to be the last line of defense.
But the two started passing notes to each other, including one written on the back of a face mask. Then she ordered a bottle of wine, which he delivered to her room.
An employee at a managed isolation hotel in Auckland has lost their job after an "encounter" with an isolated returnee in their room that lasted 20 minutes.
Covid quarantine hotel worker and woman in New Zealand caught in ‘inappropriate encounter’ April Roach
A woman returning to New Zealand and a hotelquarantine worker were found in an “inappropriate encounter” where physical distancing was not taking place, said the authorities.
The woman was told she must avoid all physical contact with others for 14 days after she went into mandatory quarantine at the Grand Millennium Auckland hotel.
But the woman started passing notes with a man who worked in the hotel, including one which was written on the back of a face mask.
The woman then ordered a bottle of wine which the hotel worker delivered to her. When he failed to return 20 minutes later, a security manager was to sent to investigate.
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5:55pm - Several new locations of interest have been added to the Ministry of Health website.
The new additions are marked with an asterisk below. Photo credit: Ministry of Health
5:30pm - Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins are pushing back on National s call for a full managed isolation and quarantine (MIQ) review after three returnees caught the virus during their stay at a facility.
Over the weekend the Government confirmed that a Northland woman had tested positive after completing 14 days at Auckland s Pullman Hotel MIQ facility. On Wednesday, two family members who stayed at the same facility also tested positive.