Thirteen officers have been stood down and parts of two police headquarters closed after a woman who later tested positive for COVID-19 was held in custody last Thursday.
Police have shut the District Custody Unit based at Waitākere Police Station after being notified by Corrections of the positive case on Sunday afternoon.
Waitematā District Operations Manager Inspector Jason Edwards says when the officers arrested the woman for a breach of bail and burglary-related offences, she was asymptomatic and had undergone a health screening test.
"We are now working closely with Ministry of Health and our partners on this matter and have reviewed CCTV footage to check who has had contact with the woman," says Insp Edwards.
"Due to this we now have ten authorised officers who have been stood down to be tested and self-isolate for 14 days."
Another three officers, who dealt with the initial arrest of the woman and brought her into the custody unit, are also being tested and self-isolating. Some of the test results have already been returned and are all negative.
The woman was initially taken back to North Shore Policing Centre for interview and was there for less than an hour. This building is also closed to the public, and the room and any area which she was in has been deep-cleaned.
Insp Edwards says police is taking every precaution - including carrying out a deep clean of the custody unit.
"Not all of the staff involved in the arrest and management in the District Custody Unit had full PPE on and we will be addressing this with them," he said.
"We expect the custody unit will reopen later [on Monday], and in the meantime all arrests that require a person to be detained are being taken to the Auckland City District Custody Unit based at Mt Eden."
