Health ministry Te Marae Ora has tested a further 371 people for Covid-19 today, on top of the 90 tested on Sunday, February 13.
Of the 371 PCR tests conducted at the Terevete Park testing station, 211 had come back negative as of 8pm today, with 160 still pending.
There were also 46 RAT tests conducted at the airport, with all returning a negative result.
Of the 90 tests conducted on Sunday there was only the one positive case, identified as a recent arrival from New Zealand.
All 14 so-far identified close contacts of this positive case have been tested, with 11 returning a negative result – including the two people travelling and staying with the positive case. The results of three of these tests are still pending.
All these close contacts have been formally quarantined for 10 days, while the positive case remains in isolation.
Te Marae Ora would like to thank all those who presented themselves for testing today and we encourage everyone who is either displaying Covid-like symptoms or who has visited a location of interest (see below) and has not been tested yet to get tested as soon as possible.
Please also note that due to the long queues at our Terevete Park testing station, we have started directing some of those who are asymptomatic – the people who have no symptoms – to the testing station at the airport instead.
Our testing regime will continue tomorrow, with the Terevete Park (Constitution Park) testing station open from 9am to 4pm, and the Arataki testing site at the Airport open from 10am – 2pm. We will also be providing public updates on our test numbers and results daily from now on.
The case that tested positive after departing here for New Zealand last Monday has been confirmed to have Omicron BA.1.1 genome that is indistinguishable from many cases in the known BA.1.1 outbreak. It is related to the NZ outbreak but whether there is undetected transmission of this genome in the Cook Islands at this stage is unknown. The tests results of this person’s partner and travelling companions are not known at this stage.
The current locations (and dates) of interest are as follows (note that sometimes may overlap):
Friday February 4
Trader Jacks (11pm-midnight)
Saturday February 5
Rehab (midnight-1am)
Edgewater restaurant (7-9.30pm)
Monday February 7
Mareko in town (8.30-9.30am)
Thursday February 10
Air NZ flight NZ946, rows 61-65
Island Car Hire across from the airport (2-3pm)
Wigmore’s Superstore (4-5pm)
Muri Night Market (7-8pm)
Tem’s Store in Muri (7-8pm)
Tupapa Centre (7.30-8.30pm)
Palace Takeaways (7.30-8.30pm)
Trio’s Bar (9-11pm)
Friday February 11
BCI ATM (morning – around noon)
Police Station (morning – around noon)
Palace Takeaways (12.30-1pm)
OTR (1-2pm)
ANZ bank (2-3pm)
Party bus from 8.30pm onwards – Hula Bar, Luna Bar, OTR, Rehab
Saturday February 12
Trader Jacks (7-9pm)
ENDS: For more information, please visit www.health.gov.ck or contact Jaewynn McKay; jaewynn.mckay@cookislands.gov.ck +682 55486