The MIQ facility at the heart of the community outbreak of the Delta variant is set to reopen as planned on Thursday, despite authorities not knowing for sure how the virus had spread from the location.
The reopening of Auckland's Crowne Plaza follows a source investigation by public health experts, an additional infection prevention and control assessment (IPC), and a review of public walkways next to the facility.
Joint Head of Managed Isolation and Quarantine, Brigadier Rose King, described the Crowne Plaza as one of the "best performing facilities" and said the risk to members of the public passing by is "so low, it is negligible".
"From a public health perspective, we believe the Crowne Plaza is safe to recommence accommodating returnees," Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield said.
"An Auckland Regional Public Health Service investigation into the source of the current community outbreak has concluded that transmission to a member of the public walking through the public atrium at the Crowne Plaza is highly unlikely."
However, Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins noted the exact way the virus had been transmitted from the Crowne Plaza to the wider community is likely "not able to be determined".
Despite that, he was confident authorities had plugged the gaps and that any future risk of the virus spreading from the facility has been minimised.
"You’ll recall that where we’ve had in-facility transmission previously…we were never able to in those circumstances to determine exactly what had happened," Hipkins said.
"But, we were able to put in place additional risk mitigations to provide reassurance the facilities are as secure and tight in terms of potential in-facility transmission as they possibly can.”
King said modelling by engineers at the University of Canterbury suggests the risk of infection to members of the public if an infectious case were standing in the facility lobby is very low.
"The TAG has also concluded that the risk to members of the public walking through the public atrium is 'negligible' and there was no rationale or justification for shutting the public atrium."
Precautionary measures were undertaken during health authorities' source investigation, which included extending the height of the Perspex barrier between the lobby and the public atrium to the ceiling.
"Out of an abundance of caution" King said the wall of a public walkway near where returnees get fresh air would be raised and a roof put on top.
This was despite the MIQ Technical Advisory Group finding the risk of exposure to members of the public walking past returnees "very low".
It also found there was limited public health or IPC rationale in closing this area.
In August , it was found the community Delta outbreak was a "close match" to a returnee from Sydney who had been at the Crowne Plaza before they were transferred to the Jet Park quarantine facility.
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