New Zealand Quarantine Worker Tests Positive for CCP Virus

Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield looks on during a press conference at Parliament in Wellington, New Zealand on Feb. 17, 2021. Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images

A New Zealand hotel quarantine worker has tested positive for the CCP virus just days after the country announced a two-way safe zone travel bubble with Australia.

The 24-year-old security worker at Grand Millennium managed isolation facility in Auckland returned a positive swab test on Tuesday after complaining of a sore throat.

New Zealand Director-General of Health Dr. Ashley Bloomfield told reporters that the man had not been vaccinated.

“The person returned high CT values , which can mean it is either early on in their infection, nearing the end, or the case is historical,” the health ministry announced on Thursday. “An urgent repeat test is being carried out today to give health officials a better understanding of this person’s infection. Whole Genome Sequencing will be carried out.”

The hotel quarantine worker lives alone and travels to work with a colleague who has been informed and is self-isolating at home, the health ministry said. The close contact will be tested today but has been vaccinated.

“Auckland public health officials have this morning carried out scoping interviews with the case to determine any locations of interest, but at this stage, we understand the case was not at work yesterday and did not visit anyone,” the health ministry said. “If any locations of interest are identified, we will update the Ministry’s website and send out push notifications.”

This is the second time a worker from the Grand Millennium managed isolation facility in Auckland has contracted COVID-19, the disease caused by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus.

A cleaner tested positive on March 22 for the UK variant, with genomic sequencing revealing a match with a returnee who had been in the facility.

The Grand Millennium will now go through an out-of-cycle Infection Prevention and Control audit.

Further to the one new border-related case at the Grand Millennium, there are 19 new positive CCP virus cases in managed isolation.

New Zealand has 95 active cases in total.