There is a new lead in the mystery of an Auckland COVID-19 case after it was discovered he used a lift shortly after another infected person.
The positive case, a maintenance worker at the Rydges Hotel, was announced on Tuesday. On Wednesday night Air Commodore Darryn Webb said a nurse who entered the room of a case confirmed on 31 July could have caught COVID-19 then passed it on to the maintenance man.
In a press conference on Thursday Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield said the nurse was all but ruled out as a cause.
"The nurses...have all returned negative tests therefore it seems very unlikely they are the pathway to infection," he said.
The lift however is a "new and strong line of investigation".
Bloomfield said the maintenance worker entered the lift "a matter of minutes" after the positive case left it.
"We have seen before and we know the virus can be passed on contaminated surfaces," he said.
"There is generally a low risk of getting infected by touching a contaminated surface but in this case the close temporal relationship between the use of the lift - there's higher possibility, it's a good possibility."
He said it was "more likely" the virus was passed via a surface but as it was a newly opened line of inquiry he did not rule out the virus being passed via the air.
When questioned whether the maintenance man or the positive case were wearing masks, Bloomfield could not confirm
"There are no cameras in the lifts," he said.
"But for some time now guests arriving have been required to wear a mask from airplane to room."
Minister of Health Chris Hipkins said it was the expectation that staff wear masks while "out and about" in the hotels.
