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Victorians returning home from New Zealand are being urged to monitor for coronavirus symptoms and “get tested immediately” following an Auckland Airport worker who contracted the virus.
The Department of Health on Wednesday advised: “Anyone who has travelled to Victoria from Auckland since April 17 to monitor for symptoms and isolate and get tested immediately should symptoms develop.”
The New Zealand Ministry of Health has released a number of exposure sites since the worker was confirmed to have contracted the virus on Tuesday.
Anyone who has visited these exposure sites on the listed dates and times needs to get tested, isolate until they get a negative result and phone the Victorian Department of Health on 1300 651 160, it was advised.
All close contacts of the Auckland case have so far tested negative to COVID-19.
It comes amid revelations the coronavirus-infected airport staffer who cleaned planes from high-risk countries also worked on an aircraft bound for Australia, with fears the staffer may have passed the infection on just two days after the trans-Tasman bubble opened.
New Zealand’s director of public health Caroline McElnay said authorities believed the case was linked to a returning passenger from Ethiopia.
“The person who has become infected works at cleaning planes from international flights,” she told reporters on Wednesday.
“This includes countries that are deemed red zone where COVID-19 is widespread, but also includes having cleaned green zone planes flying back to Australia on Monday.”
Dr McElnay noted it was the same protocol used in Australia.
“The person wore full PPE while cleaning and we have been in touch with Australian authorities to notify them about this case,” she said.
“Our assessment is that there is no additional risk to any passengers who travelled on those flights cleaned by the infected person.”
The worker has received both doses of the COVID-19 jab, which means the risk to the community is low.
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