Covid 19 Delta outbreak: New location of interest in Wellington as virus spreads to South Island

A new location of interest has been recorded in Wellington and the Ministry of Health is urging people to monitor themselves for symptoms.

The Brentwood Hotel in Kilbirnie appeared on the locations of interest list on Tuesday afternoon, after a Rotorua case visited the capital.

Anthony Day, the general manager of the hotel, says he has no idea what the Covid-19 positive person was doing at the hotel.

He says the hotel was informed the same day it was listed on the site.

Day told the Herald he understood the person was asymptomatic and all staff are considered casual contacts – meaning they must monitor themselves for symptoms for ten days after exposure and get tested if they become ill.

"There was a low level of contact with the staff, so we've been told there's no high-risk contact."

He says the days the case visited – 22-23 November – were "pretty quiet" with no conferences held.

"There's been no information as to what [the person] was doing."

The ministry assured that there is no new Covid-19 cases in the capital, but urged anyone who was at the hotel between 8am Monday November 22 and 7.30am Tuesday 23 to self-monitor for Covid-19 symptoms for 10 days.

If symptoms develop, they must get a test and isolate either until a negative result is received, or for 24 hours after symptoms have resolved.

A ministry spokesperson told the Herald inquiries into the case and any more potential locations of interest were still ongoing.

Covid-19 has spread into the South Island with three new cases recorded in Nelson-Tasman district yesterday.

"All three cases are in isolation, with investigations into the source of infection ongoing," the ministry said.

"So far, initial case interviews have identified a small number of close contacts, who are also isolating with testing arranged."