19 Aug 2020

Covid-19: Rydges situation could have been worse - Expert

From Morning Report, 6:09 am on 19 August 2020

How did an isolation hotel maintenance worker get Covid-19 from an infected guest he had never met?

A modeller says the man could have sparked a large cluster if he wasn't picked up by routine testing.

Genomic testing has shown the maintenance worker has the same strain as a guest who stayed at the hotel, despite having no apparent contact with her.

The cases are not related to the country's current large cluster.

The government has come under fire for not having enough testing at the border before the latest oubreak.

Canterbury University maths professor Michael Plank told health correspondent Rowan Quinn the situation with the Rydges worker could have been much worse.