Coronavirus evacuees could have stay extended if any test positive

Thursday, 6 February 2020

Coronavirus public meeting with Whangaparaoa community about the evacuees isolated at the Whangaparaoa Naval training base.

Evacuees staying at a Navy base north of Auckland could have their stay extended if anyone there tests positive for coronavirus.

An official addressed a public meeting in Stanmore Bay, near the Whangaparaoa Navy training area where dozens of Kiwi citizens and permanent residents are staying after they were airlifted from Wuhan on a chartered flight.

The Ministry of Health said the 'returnees' were provided with campervans to use as a private space, although they will not be confined to the recreational vehicles and can move around the base.

Whangaparaoa community members asked questions about the evacuees isolated at the Whangaparaoa Naval training base.

Top brass from police, the Navy, the Ministry of Health and the Auckland Regional Public Health Service (ARPHS), fronted the sedate public meeting at the Stanmore Bay Pool and Leisure centre on Thursday night.

**READ MORE:

Auckland Regional Public Health medical officer of health Dr William Rainger addresses the meeting.

* Kiwi tests positive for coronavirus on quarantined cruise ship in Japan

* Coronavirus: Australian Wuhan evacuees complain of poor hygiene at Christmas Island detention centre

At a public meeting in Stanmore Bay regarding the coronavirus evacuees being kept at a Navy base in Whangaparaoa are (from left) Royal New Zealand Navy Commander Ange Holland, Waitemata Police District Superintendent Naila Hassan and Ministry of Health deputy director-general Sarah Turner.

* Coronavirus: Inside the Whangaparāoa facility where evacuees will be sent

* Coronavirus: Whangaparāoa residents want more info on quarantine at NZDF site

Hibiscus & Bays Local Board chair Gary Brown during the meeting.

* Coronavirus: Quarantined Kiwis to be housed at 'very flash' Navy training base**

The mood among thecrowd of attendees, numbering fewer than 100, was accepting of the need to isolate the evacuees at the Navy base after they were flown from the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak in China.

Gulf Harbour locals stand outside the Whangaparoa NZDF training facility to welcome the evacuees.

A resident asked officials whether the planned 14-day stay would be extended if any evacuees tested positive for the virus, which has killed more than 500 people and infected about 28,000.

ARPHS medical officer of health William Rainger said if anyone tested positive they would be isolated for a further 10 days.

'Those people who have been exposed to the person during the time in which they may have been contagious …… will be in isolation for the incubation period, which is 14 days.'

Rainger was keen to emphasise there was no risk of the virus spreading by the air from the training area, at the end of the Whangaparaoa Peninsula about 40 minutes drive north of central Auckland

Coronavirus is spread via coughing and sneezing and only those within one metre of an infected person coughing could be infected, according to World Health Organisation advice, he said.

Rainger said traces of the infection in areas such as door knobs would be active for minutes, possibly hours, but the exact time was unknown.

He urged people to wash their hands frequently and observe 'cough etiquette,' for example coughing into your upper arm so the virus does not transfer to your hands and spread.

A confirmation test for coronavirus was now available in New Zealand and all the evacuees had been tested, with none yet returning a positive result, Rainger said.

None of the returnees had shown any symptoms.

'All perfectly well and very happy.'

About five people are now being tested daily in Auckland but none of those had returned a positive result yet either.

Rainger said if people wanted to wear masks, there was no harm in doing so, but it was not a sure-fire way to guard against coronavirus.

'They're not guaranteed to protect you from infection.'

Ministry of Health deputy director-general Sarah Turner thanked the community for their 'lovely' support during and after the arrival of the evacuees.

When they arrived by bus on Wednesday evening, a smattering of locals with welcome signs gathered with to wave at the masked returnees, who waved back.

The Ministry said in a statement that staff from several agencies would help during the evacuees period of isolation at the facility, including medical staff, Defence, Police, Auckland Council Emergency Management and representatives from voluntary organisations such as the Red Cross.

They included health care staff, registered nurses, family support staff, logistics specialists, caterers and cleaners.

The evacuees would receive daily medical checks while in isolation, the statement said.

'We also want to ensure while people are in isolation, they can continue to maintain as normal a life as possible, despite the circumstances. That might mean people working remotely, meeting education needs for children and providing for leisure activities.'

Family and friends who want to drop off items to the returnees can do so at the Orewa police station and officers would take the goods into the fenced facility.

However, there are to be no visits at the base from family and friends, it is understood.

One recreational vehicle (RV) has been provided per family, group or individual to use as a private space, the ministry's statement said.

'Returnees are not being kept in the RVs and can move around the base area and enjoy the facilities.'