Tauranga COVID alarm reinforces need to stay on guard

The Mari­time Uni­on says a COVID alarm aboard a ves­sel in the Port of Taur­anga is a remind­er that strict pro­cesses at ports are essen­tial to pro­tect New Zea­l­and from expos­ure.

Mari­time Uni­on of New Zea­l­and Nation­al Sec­ret­ary Craig Har­ris­on says the incid­ent aboard the Rio de la Plata on Wed­nes­day 4 August did not dir­ectly affect Mari­time Uni­on mem­bers.

Work had been stopped on the ship and work­ers were sent home to isol­ate, but later the ship was giv­en the all clear for work to resume.

He says there had been some con­fu­sion about the status of the ves­sel and its crew, and com­mu­nic­a­tion may have to be improved, but any false alarms were prefer­able to expos­ure to COVID.

Mr Har­ris­on says it is import­ant that steve­dores and port com­pan­ies con­tin­ue to ensure strict pro­to­cols are fol­lowed and PPE gear is used, as this had been suc­cess­ful so far.

He says the Mari­time Uni­on wants to see more pro­act­ive meas­ures includ­ing pub­lic health staff vis­it­ing ports and hav­ing con­ver­sa­tions with work­ers about the import­ance of vac­cin­a­tion.

Mr Har­ris­on says an issue that is not being addressed is improved test­ing and vac­cin­a­tion of over­seas crews vis­it­ing ports, which was not hap­pen­ing.

Vac­cin­a­tion of crews was a weak point in inter­na­tion­al efforts to con­trol COVID and this was where atten­tion needed to be focussed, he says.