Crew members aboard a Spanish ship berthed in Port Taranaki are currently undergoing testing for COVID-19 following reports of a "flu-like illness" on-board the vessel, says the Ministry of Health.
In its regular update on Tuesday, the ministry confirmed that testing is underway for the crew on-board the Playa Zahara, a Spanish flagged shipping vessel currently docked at Port Taranaki.
The vessel has applied for permission for a change of crew at the port complex, which is located in New Plymouth.
"There have been reports of a flu-like illness on board, so testing of the ship's crew members is underway by health authorities following its berthing this morning," a spokesperson for the Ministry of Health said in the statement.
Once testing is complete, the ship will depart from the on-shore quarantine place of inspection and will remain off-shore until the results become available on Wednesday.
"If the results show there is no evidence of COVID-19 onboard, then the vessel will be granted pratique for a crew change," the spokesperson continued.
"Health authorities have assessed this situation as having a low risk to public health."
According to Stuff, 15 of the Playa Zahara's 18 crew have recently suffered flu-like symptoms.
Crew members were seen leaving the fishing vessel one at a time to be tested for COVID-19. Once tested, they got back on-board.
In a press release, Taranaki DHB's Public Health Unit (PHU) said it was working in collaboration with Port Taranaki to provide testing for crew members.
Meanwhile, five more cases of COVID-19 have been detected in New Zealand's managed isolation facilities. An additional 13 individuals also tested positive at the border earlier on Tuesday, all of whom are crew members from the quarantined Viking Bay vessel.
The 18 new imported infections bring New Zealand's confirmed case total to 2430.
Three previously reported cases from June 25 to June 26 have now been classified as historical infections, meaning the individuals were not infectious at the time of their swabs. Since January 1, 2021, 90 of 614 cases have been deemed as historical.
Eight people have also recovered from the virus as of Tuesday, bringing the number of active cases in the country to 43.
Update on the Viking Bay
On Tuesday morning, the Ministry of Health confirmed an additional 13 mariners from the quarantined fishing vessel, the Viking Bay, had tested positive for COVID-19.
Two of its crewmen first tested positive for the virus last week after travelling to Taranaki from Auckland for a crew change.
All 15 affected mariners have now been transferred to an on-shore quarantine facility in Wellington, the ministry said.
The five crew members who have remained on-board to maintain the safety of the vessel have so far returned negative results. They will be subject to additional testing over the coming days.
The All of Government response team has advised the ministry that Maritime Safety provided a dispensation to the vessel to have only five crew on-board to meet minimum safety requirements. Contingency planning is underway for any further changes in crew numbers, it added.
Further information is available in the ministry's update from earlier this morning.
Travel from New South Wales
Quarantine-free travel from New South Wales (NSW) remains paused, however managed return flights from Sydney will start to depart on Tuesday.
All travellers on-board these flights are required to complete 14 days of managed isolation when they arrive in New Zealand. Because of this, travellers from NSW will not be required to return a negative pre-departure test before flying.
Travellers who have been in NSW on or after 10:30pm on June 26 are not permitted to travel back to New Zealand from other parts of Australia. Travel histories will be checked at the airport before flying.
Information about priorities for return flights from NSW and access to managed isolation facilities has been published by United Against COVID-19. It can be found here.
Travellers from all other parts of Australia - who haven't been in NSW since June 26 - must have returned a negative pre-departure test to be allowed to enter New Zealand. All travellers must complete a travel declaration.
