Covid-19: Bungle allows cargo ship crew to skip isolation protocols Friday, December 11, 2020 Robin Martin for RNZ
A bungle by Taranaki health officials has resulted in the crew of an overseas cargo vessel being allowed shore leave before they completed Covid-19 isolation protocols.
The district health board s mistake meant that more than 20 sailors from the
Yangtze Flourish were able to wander the streets of New Plymouth despite not meeting the required 14-day isolation period.
The vessel left Malaysia with a cargo of palm kernel on 6 November and arrived in New Plymouth on 25 November.
Crucially, an Australian pilot came on board to negotiate Torres Strait on 15 November, and the 14-day period should have begun after this.