The Cooks Islands has put two passengers from New Zealand into quarantine over fears they may have come into contact with a positive COVID-19 case.
A Cook Islands Government spokesperson says earlier on Saturday two arriving passengers were identified as having visited one of the venues a recently-identified COVID-19 case in Auckland had visited. This discovery was made just before the flight had departed Auckland.
Both passengers have been placed in supervised quarantine (SQ) for up to 14 days. A third passenger who was sitting next to one of them on the flight has also been placed in SQ.
"Due to the unfolding situation in Auckland we are taking precautionary measures, to mitigate the public health risk to the people of the Cook Islands," says Cook Islands' Health Secretary Dr Aumea Herman.
All passengers have been tested for COVID-19 again and results will be available on Saturday evening. Follow-up testing will also be conducted over the next week or so.
As an added precautionary measure, earlier today Te Marae Ora - the Cook Islands Ministry of Health - began contacting all of the 70 passengers who arrived in Rarotonga on the last two quarantine-free flights, to test for COVID-19.
Meanwhile passengers have been advised to continue practising good public health measures and to wear face masks when out in public.
