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New Zealand

Covid-19 coronavirus: Immediate isolation warning for Brisbane to NZ travellers caught in airport bubble breach

3 minutes to read
New Zealand's Covid-19 vaccine rollout is three per cent ahead of schedule, except in Northland where a big push to use available vaccine is underway.

New Zealand's Covid-19 vaccine rollout is three per cent ahead of schedule, except in Northland where a big push to use available vaccine is underway.

NZ Herald

Some passengers on board three flights to New Zealand caught up in the Brisbane International Airport Covid-19 green zone breach have been told to immediately isolate.

The Ministry of Health was last night advised by the Queensland health authorities of an upgraded risk for some passengers on three flights that left Brisbane airport on Thursday afternoon.

Brisbane International Airport was announced a "venue of concern" today after a passenger who had travelled from Papua New Guinea and mingled with passengers bound for New Zealand tested positive for Covid-19.

Almost 400 passengers who flew to New Zealand from Brisbane have potentially been exposed to the virus.

Earlier on Thursday, those arriving from Brisbane on Air New Zealand flights NZ202 and NZ146 and Qantas flight QF 135 had just been told to monitor their health for the next 14 days.

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Now passengers who were in two locations of interest at specified times at Brisbane International Airport are considered "casual-plus contacts".

"The two locations of interest are Hudson's coffee stand and adjacent seating between 9.23am and 11.20am on Thursday April 29 Queensland time, and the male toilet adjacent to Gate 79 between 11.23am and 11.15pm when the toilet was cleaned," the Ministry of Health said late last night in a statement.

"As a precaution, anyone who was at these locations at these times should now immediately return home or to their accommodation, and isolate until they get a negative result from a day five test on Tuesday May 4."

Travellers who were in either of these two locations at this time should contact Healthline on 0800 358 5453 and register as a casual-plus contact.

The three flights affected are NZ202 from Brisbane to Christchurch, which arrived at around 4.30pm on Thursday; NZ146 from Brisbane to Auckland, which arrived at 5.30pm on Thursday; and QF 135 from Brisbane to Christchurch on Thursday.

"While the health risk from the green zone breach event remains low, the Queensland authorities have advised New Zealand counterparts that those travellers who were in two locations of interest at specified times within the international terminal are casual-plus contacts," the ministry said in a statement.

The ministry's contact tracing team will be contacting passengers on the three flights today.

The two individuals were tested in Brisbane; one returned a negative result and the other returned a weak positive, confirmed by a second PCR test.

The infected man travelled from a "red zone" country but was inadvertently allowed to cross into the "green zone" area at Brisbane Airport where passengers were waiting to travel to New Zealand.

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