Covid 19 coronavirus: Locations of interest released after infected Sydney man’s Wellington visit

Full list of locations and times at bottom of article

The first locations of interest have been revealed including Te Papa Tongarewa, Rydges Hotel, a chemist and a bar.

A Covid-infected Sydney man visited a number of Wellington sites during a weekend trip across the Tasman.

The Ministry of Health says everyone who was at Te Papa’s surrealist exhibition on Saturday June 19 from 4pm – 5.45pm are considered a close contact and need to get tested immediatedly and isolate for 14 days.

Te Papa has told visitors it will be closed today after being identified as a location of interest.

It also says those who were at Jack Hackett’s Bar on June 19 between 8.45pm to midnight are also deemed close contacts.

Other places, including Rydges Hotel, Unichem Wellington Central Pharmacy and Te Papa Tongarewa – general, where people are considered casual plus contacts.

Casual plus contacts are people who have had exposure to a case, but who do not meet the criteria of a close contact. The ministry says those who were regarded as casual plus contacts were required to get a test around Day 5 after last exposure and stay at home until a negative test result was received. They were then asked to self-monitor for Covid symptoms for 14 days.

Casual plus contacts are required to stay at home while a day five test result is pending.

The ministry says those in the Rydges hotel have potentially been exposed to the infected traveller from midnight on June 19 to 9.10am on June 21.

The Unichem Wellington Central pharmacy is a considered a location of interest on June 19 between 10.38am to 11.48am.

Te Papa tongarewa – general is considered a casual exposure site on June 19 from 3.05pm to 5:45pm.

But those visiting the surrealist art exhbition Masterpieces from Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen are being placed on higher alert and considered at greatest risk.

The ministry says those in the exhibition between 4pm – 5:45pm need to take urgent action and get tested.

The art exhibition is touted as the biggest international art exhibition to ever shown at Te Papa. It includes 180 works by celebrated artists including Salvador Dali, Rene Magritte and Man Ray.

The ministry said extra time had been added on either side of each visit to ensure all potential contacts were reached.

A public health alert was issued last night by New South Wales Health that identified two flights as exposure sites.

They are Qantas QF 163, that arrived in Wellington on June 19 at 12.12am and Air New Zealand flight NZ247 that departed on Monday at 10.13am.

All those on board the flights were considered close contacts and asked to get tested and isolated for 14 days.

Director general of health Dr Ashley Bloomfield said the man, who tested positive for Covid-19 yesterday afternoon, had visited “quite a number” of tourist attractions in the capital at the weekend.

The man and his partner flew in on Friday night just after midnight and returned home Monday.

Bloomfield this morning revealed the man, who was considered infectious during his time in Wellington, developed symptoms on the flight back.

He tested positive for Covid yesterday afternoon and is considered the first Australian traveller to have brought the infection to New Zealand and returned home.

Bloomfield said health officials spoke to him last night in order to compile a list of places he had visited.

Affected businesses would be contacted before the public was notified, he told NewstalkZB’s Mike Hosking.

Air New Zealand confirmed this morning the craft’s operating crew had been asked to self-isolate and get tested.

The airline’s chief operational integrity and safety officer Captain David Morgan said the company was alerted last night that a passenger travelling from Wellington to Sydney on Monday had tested positive.

The aircraft was cleaned to usual standards upon arrival into Sydney and then again yesterday evening, he said.

Earlier the Ministry of Health said four close contacts had so far been identified and were now isolating.

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