An audit into Managed Isolation and Quarantine (MIQ) facilities says an immediate review of the policies of various Government agencies regarding the wearing of personal protective equipment is required.
There are two new Covid-19 cases in managed isolation facilities - and one of them visited Auckland City Hospital before testing positive.
These cases bring the number of active cases in New Zealand to 16, all in managed isolation or quarantine facilities. There are no cases in the community.
Oneof the cases was a woman in her 20s who arrived from India on June 18. She was staying at the Grand Millenium and tested negative on June 23 after her first test.
On June 26 she was taken by ambulance to Auckland Hospital's emergency department for a different medical issue and returned to managed isolation after a short period.
She was tested for Covid-19 as part of her assessment while at the hospital and that test has today returned as positive.
The Health Ministry said staff at the hospital knew she'd come from managed isolation and appropriate protocols were followed, including the use of PPE.
Director general of health Ashley Bloomfield said the woman's initial negative test result wasn't unexpected. Photo / Mark Mitchell
No members of staff are considered to be close contacts and she was cared for in a separate room while in the emergency department.
"She wore a surgical mask for the duration of her time at Auckland City Hospital. She did not require hospitalisation and the emergency department is the only part of the hospital she visited.
"Members of the public can be assured that Auckland City Hospital is safe for patients, visitors and staff."
The other case is a man in his 20s who returned from India on June 22 and had also been staying at the Grand Millenium. He tested positive as part of routine testing on day three.
Director general of health Ashley Bloomfield said the woman's initial negative test result wasn't unexpected as she might have been in the early stages of incubating the virus.
"What this case highlights is the importance of 14 days spent in managed isolation or quarantine together with daily symptom checks.
"Even with all returnees being tested twice during their stay in managed isolation, we continue to do a daily check for symptoms consistent with Covid-19 as part of our broader programme, which includes strict protocols in our managed isolation and quarantine facilities."
"The addition of testing is providing us with an extra level of assurance that we can identify people in managed isolation who have Covid-19 and, if they do, they can then be managed appropriately. So saying, the protocols in place at managed isolation facilities are based on the assumption that people may have Covid-19 until they complete their isolation period."
New Zealand's new confirmed total of Covid-19 cases is 1,172.
Yesterday 9,178 tests were processed in border facilities and in the community, bringing the total number of tests completed to date to 387,435.
427 people still being tracked down after border bungle
There are still 427 people of the 2,159 who left managed isolation between June 9 and June 16 who the Ministry of Health can't get in contact with.
It said staff had repeatedly called and texted the people.
The Health Ministry had invalid numbers for 92 of those people so they've been referred to "finding services" which include customs and could include police if needed.
The ministry said it would refer the others to those services if they still couldn't get in touch and urged them to contact Healthline.
Another 367 people have been referred for a test which there aren't results yet for while the other 1,228 have tested negative.
Pandemic accelerating overseas
The pandemic was still accelerating overseas and new cases were to be expected at our border, the Health Ministry said.
The 14-day stay in managed isolation or quarantine ensures that returnees are managed with appropriate public health protocols and isolated from other New Zealanders while they may be incubating the virus.
Yesterday there was only one new case - a man in his 30s who arrived in New Zealand on June 21 from Kenya, via Doha and Brisbane.
He'd been staying at Auckland's Novotel Ellerslie but was moved to the Jet Park Hotel yesterday to quarantine.
It was also reported yesterday 71 people who spent 14 days in managed isolation - and are now back in the community - refused to be tested for Covid-19.
The ministry said of the 2159 people in managed isolation from June 9-16, 1186 people had been contacted and had tested negative for Covid.
Of those, 800 were tested before leaving managed isolation and the remaining 386 were tested after.
The pandemic was still accelerating overseas and new cases were to be expected at our border, the Health Ministry said.
The 14-day stay in managed isolation or quarantine ensures that returnees are managed with appropriate public health protocols and isolated from other New Zealanders while they may be incubating the virus.
The ministry said 199 people had been referred for a test, but "we do not yet have a result".
"We are still in the process of connecting with 632 people. As needed we will refer people we do not make contact with to finding services. 164 of these had invalid phone numbers, so have been referred to finding services.
"We have had 142 people who will not be tested because of reasons such as being a child, being part of repositioning crew, currently being overseas or they are refusing a test. 71 people have refused testing."
