An additional 13 positive Covid-19 tests have been recorded from the quarantined fishing vessel Viking Bay, docked in Wellington.
That’s in addition to two crew members who were previously reported as having tested positive for the virus.
All 15 people with the virus are at an on-shore quarantine facility in Wellington. Five remain onboard the ship for safety reasons, and they’ve returned negative tests to date.
The Ministry of Health said the five people on board will be tested again in the coming days. A plan is in place in case they develop symptoms or test positive while quarantining on the vessel.
Of the crew who tested positive, 12 are "in the early stages of their infection", the Ministry of Health said. The remaining person's result indicates they may either have a very early or historical infection.
Further resting is planned for today, which is expected to provide more information. Genome sequencing for today's 13 positive test results will also begin today.
One of the crew members who tested positive last week was confirmed as having the Delta variant. There has been no link identified between this case and any others previously identified in New Zealand.
Viking Bay arrived at Wellington’s Queens Wharf yesterday.
As it docked, Customs said they worked closely with the shipping agent and other authorities to transport the crew to managed isolation “with minimal risk to the public”.
All 20 crew members underwent a comprehensive health check, including testing, on arrival in Wellington.
Last week, the ship was barred from returning to Port Taranaki after two of its crew contracted Covid-19.
Eleven of the ship's crew had been at sea since February. They were joined by another nine other crew members who arrived in New Zealand on July 5 as part of a scheduled crew change.
The Spanish-flagged vessel hasn't been fishing in NZ waters and not operating on behalf of a NZ fishing venture, MPI says.
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