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NZers given all-clear to travel this weekend; All close contacts of 3 community cases return negative results, but 39 Pullman Hotel leavers are yet to return negative results

NZers given all-clear to travel this weekend; All close contacts of 3 community cases return negative results, but 39 Pullman Hotel leavers are yet to return negative results

New Zealanders have been given the all-clear to travel this weekend, as there are no new cases of COVID-19 in the community.

All 10 close contacts of the North Auckland father and daughter have returned negative results.

The close contacts of the Northland woman are returning negative results further to undergoing additional rounds of testing.  

But importantly, 39 of the 353 people who stayed at the Pullman Hotel at the same time as the three cases above are yet to return negative results.

Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield didn’t know how many of the 39 had been tested.

Over 6000 tests were processed yesterday. Nearly 2% of the Northland population has been tested since Sunday.  

There are 72 active cases of COVID-19 in New Zealand.

People who visited the same locations as the father and daughter in North Auckland are being asked to isolate and get tested. See the list of locations here.

MIQ worker sacked after 'encounter' with guest

COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins confirmed a worker at a managed isolation facility - the Grand Millennium Hotel - was sacked after having a 20-minute “encounter” with a guest.

The worker took the guest a bottle of wine, having exchanged notes with them - including one written on the back of a face mask.

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32 Comments

Felt so sorry for those low wages Pullman hotel MIQ workers, most likely renters? - being asked to do C19 unpleasant test twice weekly. The extra payment by govt & team of 5millions? - just that.. a word of 'Be kind'.

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Yes, they are risking their lives to quarantine people who are not even intending to stay or 'return' to NZ.
Complete incompetence by this Govt. Time to ban UK, US, India, SA, and other high incidence countries.

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oh but the senior managers and the manager, of the manager, of the manager in good old Wellington will be on a hefty six fiqure sums, pointing the finger at the poor old MIQ worker

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Oh, golly gosh, must really rip your nightie to hear that NZ is No1 in the WORLD for our covid response.

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Pretty low bar that was set to be fair

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NZ is blessed with low population density and a summer with plenty sun shine.

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The bot is stuck in a loop now.

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Especially when we slow down immigration from China.

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Obviously naïve NZ is being used as an easy corridor for 'Residents' to arrive back in NZ, then straight to Australia after Q, then onto Asia or wherever. Thus, killing the NZ to Aus travel pre-bubble, and the 2 way bubble hoped for. If you are arriving back in NZ you should be staying here for a purpose.
Is Australia going to forever clean up NZ's incompetence?

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Did those people declare themselves as short term arrivals and pay for isolation. Or just lie. Get free taxpayer funded isolation and go straight from the MIQ to the airport for their flight outa here.

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It’s an absolute disgrace.
And just shows that NZ ‘residency’ is cheap.

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I know of a British guy on a work visa here whose English girlfriend is arriving soon for a rendezvous. Wtf???????????????????????

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Hmm I wonder who handed out the bulk of the residencies of convenience that we have to honour now?

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NZ really crushed this C19 backbone, so much so..no need for Lab testing capacity preparation, hence those long queue in Northland. I'm just surprise that Ashley mentioned the test result is processed in AKL. wow, talking about flattening the curve, buying time & being ready for the next waves.. oh ah uh forgot.. yea Vaccine is ready.

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she'll be right mate

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Have commented several times here that it was high time that the frontline staff at MIQ had protection by way of being vaccinated. Seems too that other forms of protection would be prudent, for other activities?

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Mike Hosking nailed it again today. Essentially I think we are getting through this to this point in time with just dumb luck. With the new strains floating about its just a question of time before this blows up in our faces. We have had a year to get this sorted and its still a mess.

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I think it is all relevant. Being an island nation with only 5 million people (and nearly half of us live in Auckland), this could well be it. Look at the UK; they could be much better if they shut down the border as we did a year ago.

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To compare the borders of the UK with those of NZ is the height of idiocy.

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Mike Hosking ....dumb....My version of a book blurb.

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Dumb luck is once

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"20-minute encounter" anyone recalls the aftermath created by that Aussie security guard?

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You could hear the drooling of the reporters during the press conference. Most unedifying.

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A quickie

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Turned up at the door with a bottle of Le Goupeneur. A very popular drop.

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20 minutes? Did she write her name and room number on the toilet wall in the lobby? With the risk he/she posed to our country their name should be published as both a deterrent and a punishment.

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After due and equal in consideration, it may well have been then two hes, two shes, or a combination of both. The modern age. How obliging. There it is. To quote Lennon, I think. Next thing they’ll be doing it in the streets.

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No one will be watching us, why don't we do it in the road

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there is an old one PA, that you might remember, where the punchline is for #3 could you please pick a street where nobody knows us.

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Ah, the White Album, from the best band ever in the history of the world !

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Only in NZ , busing the quarantined!!!
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/coronavirus/124087086/covid19-b…
Wish Bloomfield would go on a few of these bus trips

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so the EU -basically Germany and France -- are effectively introducing rules that mean any vaccine made in the EU -- goes to the EU countries first -- regardless of agreements in place -

Given that we are goign to need 5 - 10 million doses a year -- + the number of ordinary flu jabs -- does it ot make sense for hte government to use some of this borrowing to set up our own vaccine manufacturing plant ?
Would create some decent jobs - and give us vaccine security !

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