A fourth person who was released from controlled isolation at Auckland’s Pullman hotel tested positive for Covid-19, the New Zealand Ministry of Health said, but officials have assured the public that the risk to others remains “low”.
The individual has been isolated at his home in Hamilton, North Island, since he left the hotel on January 30 and returned three negative results before the positive test, the ministry said.
Saturday’s announcement means that five people linked to the hotel have now contracted the virus, after three guests tested positive after leaving and another person picked up from one of the returnees.
After the first case was announced in January, other hotel guests were asked to stay longer, but the building is expected to be emptied on Sunday and the next week it will have its CCTV systems updated, followed by thorough cleaning.
Investigators have not yet determined how the virus was transmitted, but the last person tested positive remained on the same floor as other confirmed cases, said director of public health, Dr. Caroline McElnay.
All recent hotel guests were asked to isolate themselves at home for five days after departure and McElnay said Saturday’s case was resolved on the person’s fifth day of self-isolation.
They were being returned to a quarantine facility, she said. The two close contacts with whom they lived had a negative test, and the positive case said that they isolated themselves separately in their home while wearing a face mask in common areas.
“Today’s case reinforces the importance of self-insulation and the repeated testing strategy we have adopted at the Pullman Hotel,” said McElnay.
The last case of community transmission in New Zealand was in Auckland on 18 November, after which the city center was temporarily closed.