August 17 2021. Auckland and Coromandel will go into level 4 lockdown for seven days – and the rest of the country for three days – following news of a community Covid-19 case in NZ's biggest city. Video / NZ Herald / Getty
One of the locations of interest a Covid-infected man visited says staff are shocked at the news, but have praised him for his actions.
Umu Cafe, in the Coromandel, was last night identified as one of about a dozen places the 58-year-old man visited.
In a post shared on thecafe's Facebook page late last night, staff said: "As you would have probably heard, Umu has been identified as a location of interest in the latest Covid case.
"We are as shocked as all of you, but are trying to keep our staff and customers as informed as we are."
The man, from Devonport in Auckland's North Shore, travelled to the region with his wife on Friday and spent the weekend there.
He visited Umu Cafe on three separate occasions - firstly on Friday, from 7.40pm to 8.30pm, the next day from 6.17pm to 7.11pm and again for breakfast on Sunday from 10.40am to 11.10am.
"If you were in the cafe in these times, we advise you to self-isolate and get tested," customers are told.
Despite the situation, the cafe said they felt "lucky" that the man had made sure to check on the Covid-19 app.
"We are lucky that this case [has] done the right thing and scanned in everywhere and got tested quickly after feeling symptomatic.
"They also visited other locations in Coromandel town and so our hearts go out to all of the businesses and workers affected at this time."
Members of the public and locals have been in touch with the cafe since the news broke; offering kind messages and calls they acknowledged was making things easier.
One person wrote: "We've all got this Corotown. Big hugs to you all."
