Auckland’s new outbreak of Covid-19 has taken a mysterious turn with one of the cases suggesting a new chain of transmission in the community.
Genome sequencing has revealed an isolation hotel worker who tested positive for the virus is not linked to the Auckland cluster that nearly all the other positive cases are linked to.
Instead, the infected worker at the Rydges Hotel is linked to a returnee from the US and authorities are stumped as to how that could be.
RNZ reports scientists are urging a special type of blood test be used to see if a third person is the missing link between the two.
Newsroom’s Marc Daalder has looked at what that new case could mean for the current resurgence of Covid-19.
A worst-case scenario would be there’s a second outbreak at the hotel – or more widely across Auckland. However, infectious diseases expert Dr Siouxsie Wiles says that while there may be some secondary spread from this new case, it should be smaller in scope.
Thirteen more cases of Covid-19 were confirmed in the community yesterday, with New Zealand Post also announcing late last night that a second member of their staff has tested positive for the virus.
They say there will now be a slight delay in items being delivered in Auckland.
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Heat goes on at the border
The confirmation that a hotel employee has contracted Covid-19 has highlighted the importance of testing border workers.
The Government continues to face flak over the issue, with National’s Judith Collins calling gaps in border staff testing an “absolute failure” .
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says “setting up a hermetically sealed border is a very difficult thing to do” but admits testing levels were not what she expected .
NZ First’s Winston Peters says heads should roll over the lack of testing at the border, but as Stuff reports , he won’t say which ones.
Epidemiologists say there are other potentially significant gaps at the border, too.
Some air crew are still not required to be tested or isolated, while grooms bringing live horses into New Zealand are also exempt from having to be tested .
Epidemiologist Professor Michael Baker says there should be a blanket set of rules for everyone coming into New Zealand.
Meanwhile, health workers testing for Covid-19 are threatening to walk off the job over pay and conditions.
Hundreds of scientists and technicians at Southern Community Laboratories say staff are being pushed to breaking point working over 12-hour days. Partial strike action has been set down for Monday.
Privacy breach at hotel
A list of people staying in a managed isolation facility was posted to a social media site over the weekend.
Officials say a security guard at Auckland’s Sheraton Four Points hotel posted an image of a list of returnees staying at the facility to a private Snapchat group.
The image was taken down as soon as agencies became aware of it and the guard has since been removed from duty.
How to halt Covid conspiracies?
The man who started a false rumour about the cause of Auckland’s Covid-19 cluster says what he did was “inexcusable” .
He told investigative journalists David Farrier and Dylan Reeve he deeply regrets his actions and now fears for his reputation, his job and his future.
It comes after repeated warnings about the sharing of misinformation through the pandemic, with officials saying those deliberately spreading falsehoods can face penalties.
But with conspiracy theories continuing to circulate on social media and causing more real-world harm, RNZ’s Mediawatch has looked at the issue of how best to cover them .
Seven Sharp has also produced a few tips for how to handle any people in your own life who are prone to spouting conspiracy theories, which you can watch here .
Trump takes pop at NZ
US President Donald Trump has mocked New Zealand’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic following the latest outbreak in Auckland, saying, “It’s terrible. We don’t want that.”
His comments come as the US surges past five million cases of Covid-19.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says she doesn’t think there’s any comparison between New Zealand’s current cluster and the situation in the US. Green Party co-leader James Shaw added , “Donald Trump says rubbish every single day.”
President Trump was also a focus of attention at the Democratic National Convention yesterday, where former First Lady Michelle Obama delivered a blistering speech about Trump being “in over his head”.
It’s safe to say he did not take kindly to that critique .
Other news of note this morning:
Level 2 restrictions mean significantly fewer people will be able to attend the sentencing of the Christchurch gunman next week.
A man says his young family are at breaking point and stuck in isolation waiting for a rogue Covid-19 test result to clear them to leave.
Child sex offender and murderer Phillip John Smith is accusing the government of unlawfully bringing him back to New Zealand after his overseas escape.
A report has found Māori high school students are being unfairly streamed in low-ability classes.
A man has been arrested and charged after allegedly attempting to evade a police checkpoint at Auckland’s border.
And businesses have until noon today to display the Government's Covid Tracer QR code at their premises.
And finally...
When it comes to kids’ viewing habits, it looks like New Zealand’s children are turning from Peppa Pig to Simon Dallow.
Yep, Colmar Brunton asked more than 1000 Kiwis aged 6-14 what they like to watch, and it turns out they love the news (after YouTube, The Simpsons and Teen Titans, but whatever.)
They also love Kea Kids News , which is about to start its second season.
So, Seven Sharp’s Jeremy Wells sat down for an interview with young Kea Kids News reporter, Charlie Grey.
I don’t know who’s interviewing who here , but I do know they’re both upstaged by a cat named Nala.
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