WELLINGTON—A person in New Zealand confirmed to have been infected was revealed on Friday to have attended a rock concert packed with thousands of other people.
Health authorities said the man in his 30s, who is the partner of a woman who was confirmed to have COVID-19 this week, attended the Tool concert at Spark Arena in Auckland on Feb. 28.
The rock concert in New Zealand’s largest city was packed to capacity for two days last week.
“He was in the general admission standing area in the front left-hand quadrant,” Ministry of Health director-general of health Dr. Ashley Bloomfield said at a news conference. “We encourage people who were in the general admission standing area to be aware of symptoms of COVID-19.”
Bloomfield said the risk is low for all others who attended this concert. The man has been isolated at home since Wednesday.
The man and his partner had recently arrived back in the country from northern Italy.
New Zealand so far has four confirmed cases of SARS-CoV-2, a much smaller number than Australia, where 60 cases have been recorded and two elderly people have died of complications from the virus.
New Zealand has extended its travel restrictions for people arriving from China and Iran, in an effort to contain the outbreak of the virus.
The virus emerged in China late last year and has now spread to more than 80 countries, leading to travel and other restrictions.
By Praveen Menon
Friends Read Free