More fishermen have tested positive for Covid-19 after a number of cases at the Sudima Christchurch Airport hotel in New Zealand.
A total of 18 from the group have tested positive, announced today by the Ministry of Health.
It follows the discovery yesterday that eleven of the fishermen had returned positive results, 14 other cases were under investigation.
They are among 440 fishers from Russia and the Ukraine, 270 of whom are due to go out on three Independent Fisheries boats next month.
“I think it’s logical to expect that. We knew in the planning that places like Russia are high risk,” Air Commodore Darryn Webb told Chris Lynch on Newstalk ZB.
Webb said it was not an “uncontained outbreak” and something that happens in our facilities.
The processes were robust and fit for purpose.
“We have an exclusive use facility for these fishermen. Part of the process early on is that we do know they are coming from a high risk area so let’s provide them a single location.”
He said there was a 24-hour delay as the aircraft worked through its process in Moscow and the fishermen were assembled there for 48 hours and then en route for 18 hours.
That period of time provided an opportunity for the virus to spread.
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