Coronavirus: A timeline of how community COVID-19 cases re-emerged in New Zealand

Last Tuesday, a marine engineer carried out work on a ship in Auckland.

At that time - and despite taking all the necessary precautions to protect himself - he had no idea this would make him the first community coronavirus case in New Zealand in more than three weeks.

Here's how it got to that point, and what's happened since.

Tuesday, October 13

A man who will later test positive for coronavirus carries out some work on a ship in Auckland, the Sofrana Surville.

The ship travels from Papua New Guinea to the Solomon Islands, Brisbane, Tauranga and then Auckland, where eight crew join it from the Philippines.

The man, a ship engineer, practises social distancing and wears personal protective equipment (PPE) while working on the vessel.

The Sofrana Surville departs for New Caledonia.

The man worked on a ship docked in the Ports of Auckland last Tuesday.
The man worked on a ship docked in the Ports of Auckland last Tuesday. Photo credit: Getty

Wednesday, October 14

The engineer stays in a hotel and then a motel in New Plymouth, where he's based for work.

The man, who works on ships in ports across New Zealand, goes into work at Port Taranaki where another ship, the Ken Rei, is docked.

He practises social distancing and wears PPE, including a mask and gloves, while working on the ship.

That evening, he travels from New Plymouth up to Auckland alone in a car.

Thursday, October 15

The man isn't working, so stays at home except for one trip out to get food.

Friday, October 16

The man goes into work, but later leaves after developing symptoms. He gets tested for COVID-19 as soon as he becomes symptomatic, and that test returns a positive result.

While at work, he comes into brief contact with two others. That night, one of them visits The Malt - a pub in Greenhithe, a suburb on Auckland's North Shore.

The Ministry of Health identifies that the positive case may have been infectious in the days before he started experiencing symptoms.

It scales up testing to help ensure there are no undetected cases in the community.

The Malt was visited by a confirmed case last Friday night.
The Malt was visited by a confirmed case last Friday night. Photo credit: Newshub.

Saturday, October 17

The man and his close contacts are asked to isolate or go into the Jet Park Hotel, Auckland's quarantine facility.

A contact of the man visits a Snap Fitness gym between 9am and 12:30pm in Browns Bay, on the North Shore.

Sunday, October 18

The port worker case is announced publicly for the first time, marking the first community case reported in New Zealand in more than three weeks.

It's revealed he'd last had a COVID-19 test on October 2, which returned a negative result.

The Ministry of Health advises that the motel and hotel rooms he stayed in should undergo a deep clean.

The ship he was working on when he became sick, the Sofrana Surville, docks in Napier. Despite having no symptoms, all crew on board require a public health clearance before they can leave the vessel.

Meanwhile a contact of the case visits marine supply store Burnsco in Gulf Harbour, a suburb in north Auckland on two occasions - once at 10:30am and again at 3:30pm.

Dr Bloomfield announced the first coronavirus case in more than three weeks on Sunday.
Dr Bloomfield announced the first coronavirus case in more than three weeks on Sunday. Photo credit: RNZ

Monday, October 19

Three Port Taranaki staff members who may have had contact with the man are identified, tested and told to isolate at home.

Pop-up clinics are established at Port Taranaki and the Ports of Auckland to test other workers, and staff are asked to limit meetings and reduce face-to-face contact as a precaution.

Staff at the accommodations the man stayed at in New Plymouth also undergo testing.

Meanwhile the Ministry of Health reports no new cases at the border or in the community, and identifies the Sofrana Surville as the likely source of infection.

The ministry gets in contact with Australian authorities about testing of crew on the ship ahead of its arrival in Brisbane from New Caledonia.

Genome sequencing shows the case is a 'border incursion' case, rather than a community case of unknown origin. The sequencing proves the case isn't linked to any existing New Zealand cases or the recent Auckland outbreak.

Tuesday, October 20

One imported case is reported in New Zealand, but no new community cases.

The Ministry of Health says it has identified 30 close contacts in relation to the port worker case, and all of those have been contacted and are self-isolating.

It also reveals all the test results returned from close and casual contacts of the case have been negative to date.

New Zealand health officials are following up with their counterparts in Australia after the Sofrana Surville docks in Brisbane, as they conduct testing and serology on all 19 crew members.

The Ken Rei - one of several ships the Ministry of Health investigated after the new community case emerged.
The Ken Rei - one of several ships the Ministry of Health investigated after the new community case emerged. Photo credit: Getty

An investigation into the ship's activities in New Zealand finds 11 people had contact with it while it was in Auckland. All are followed up, tested and isolated if appropriate.

Toi Te Ora, the public health unit in the Bay of Plenty, continues work to identify people who boarded the ship while it was in Tauranga.

Meanwhile health officials carry out daily health checks on crew members of the Ken Rei, which is docked in Napier.

Wednesday, October 21

The three Port Taranaki staff members who came into contact with a positive COVID-19 case all return negative test results.

Later in the day, an unprecedented 25 new cases are reported - 23 in MIQ facilities and another two linked to the port worker. The two community cases had both tested negative for COVID-19 within the previous week.

The first is a casual contact of the port worker who had worked with him on Friday, but had tested negative on Sunday. Their household contact is identified as someone who also needs to be tested.

The second is a close contact of the port worker who had been in the Auckland quarantine facility since Sunday. They tested positive after developing symptoms on Tuesday.

The Ministry of Health launches contact tracing, and says it will revisit its hypothesis that the Sofrana Surville was the source of the infection in light of the new cases.

At 7:30pm, the Auckland Regional Public Health Service (ARPHS) confirms that one of the new cases had visited The Malt pub the preceding Friday night. It asks anyone who was there between 7:30pm and 10pm to self-isolate and get tested.

A few close contacts are identified and contacted.

Thursday, October 22

The metro Auckland DHBs open two additional community testing centres on the North Shore - a pop-up centre at North Wainoni Park in Greenhithe, and a surge centre at Northcare Accident and Medical a 10-minute drive away.

Rangitoto College, a school on Auckland's North Shore, reveals a family member of a confirmed case had attended school briefly earlier in the week.

The student was not a close contact of the case, had no symptoms and had returned a negative result. ARPHS said that they were very unlikely to have been infectious while at school.

Rangitoto College reveals a family member of a confirmed case had attended the school earlier in the week.
Rangitoto College reveals a family member of a confirmed case had attended the school earlier in the week. Photo credit: Google Maps

An hour later, the Ministry of Health reports two new cases - but they're both in MIQ facilities.

It describes the pub incident as an "exposure event" - where people have potentially been in contact with COVID-19 by being in the same place at the same time as someone who has been infected with the virus.

The Ministry of Health urges to get back into the habit of using the COVID Tracer app in light of the new cases.

It also reveals that a contact had visited Burnsco the week prior.

ARPHS contacts the Browns Bay Snap Fitness gym, confirming that a contact of the port worker had visited. The gym closes down to complete a deep clean and carry out disinfectant fogging.

Meanwhile Australian health authorities report back that three Sofrana Surville crew members have shown evidence of a current or previous COVID-19 infection.

This supports the Ministry of Health's hypothesis that the port worker was infected while working on board on October 13.

At the same time, swabs are collected from crew onboard the Ken Rei.

Friday, October 23

Nine new cases of COVID-19 are reported - eight in MIQ, one in the community.

The Ministry of Health announces seven community testing centres will be open over Labour Weekend to ensure there are ample testing opportunities for Aucklanders.

They also reminded those who visited The Malt pub and their household contacts should remain in isolation until they receive their results.

Health officials say they've analysed the data of those who visited the pub, which revealed that only a small number of people scanned in. They say it's a good reminder to resume use of the app, even when the risk of transmission appears low.