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Dimension, aka Robert Etheridge, a UK electronic artist, flew to New Zealand on December 16, and completed seven days in MIQ, to be followed by three days of home isolation.
The musician returned three negative tests before testing positive on December 27 – the result of a test taken on day nine, which fell on December 25.
On December 26 and 27 he visited several locations in Auckland, including central city nightclub Impala.
Late on Wednesday night, after Stuff revealed he’d tested postive for the Omicron variant, a “devastated” Etheridge posted to his Instagram that he had followed government regulations and shown no symptoms ahead of “unexpectedly” testing positive twelve days after arriving in Aotearoa.
“I cannot put into words how extremely sorry I am to everyone who will be impacted. Never in a million years did I think anything like this would be a reality in a country that I love so much and has always made me feel so welcome,” his post said.
On Thursday morning in an updated Instagram caption, the DJ said he wanted to reiterate his apologies “to those who I have inadvertently put at risk as a result of my misunderstandings.”
“I realise the gravity of the situation and I am deeply regretful to those who have been impacted; including members of the public, event organisers and close contacts,” he said.
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On Christmas Day, Etheridge posted photos on his social media channels of himself by the sea, saying: “Merry Christmas from New Zealand.”
On his Instagram feed, he tagged the location of the picture as Waiheke, an island in Auckland's Hauraki Gulf.
He thanked his followers for “an amazing year” that saw his album top the UK dance charts.
Since the news broke, his social media posts mentioning New Zealand have been taken down, and in his updated statement on Thursday Etheridge said the Waiheke images were taken at a private address approved by the Ministry of Health.
“For clarity, photos uploaded on social media on December 25 were taken at a private address which was approved by the Ministry of Health prior to my arrival,” he said.
“As a result of my name being revealed in the media, I received many comments of hate and abuse, therefore I felt the needs to remove the post in that moment.”
Waiheke Medical Centre practice manager and the island’s Covid-19 response manager Jayme Kitiona told Stuff that so far she has not been notified of any exposure events on Waiheke Island.
Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins will address the country on the situation at 11am on Thursday, however there are no plans to change any settings at this point, said a government spokesman.
This comes after the Ministry of Health announced on Wednesday that a case detected at the border with the variant had “briefly been active in the community”.
The case arrived from the United Kingdom via Doha on December 16 and tested positive on day nine in their self-isolation period.
The Ministry of Health confirmed the case is not a New Zealand citizen but is fully vaccinated.
The person received their day nine test result on December 27 and was immediately transferred to an Auckland MIQ facility.
They were active between December 26 and 27, visiting locations of interest in Auckland, including central city nightclub Impala and Commercial Bay Precinct.
Etheridge was due to headline the Rhythm & Alps music festival near Wanaka, but was pulled from the line-up, along with another DJ, known as Friction, on Wednesday night “due to the ongoing impacts of Covid-19”.
Friction, who played at Hidden Lakes Festival in Christchurch’s Hagley Park on Tuesday night, is a close contact and is isolating.
Stuff understands other international artists due to play in New Zealand in the next fortnight are also considered close contacts.
Friction posted on Instagram on Wednesday saying “I've unknowingly been in the vicinity of a potential Covid case while I've been here”.
He had tested negative for the virus, but had to isolate – meaning he would not be able to play at Rhythm & Alps.
“The safety of everyone at the event, as well as the whole of New Zealand is the most important thing to me above everything. I’m absolutely heartbroken but promise I will see you all very soon.”
New Zealand drum and base duo Lee Mvtthews also revealed on social media that they were close contacts of the Omicron case and had to self-isolate instead of playing at Summer Haze on Wednesday night and at Rhythm & Alps on Thursday.
“We put so much time and effort into the set, honestly, truly feel it was our best one yet, we’ve got new music, but it is what it is, and we’ve got to keep the rest of the country safe,” they said.
“Fingers crossed we can see you guys at Golden Lights.”
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International travellers arriving into New Zealand are required to isolate in managed isolation for seven days before self-isolating for three days at their home.
Ministry of Health is now investigating the source of the infection and identifying close contacts.
Close contacts who have been identified and tested have returned a negative result for the virus and are isolating.
“We are taking this situation seriously and taking a precautionary approach,” said a Ministry of Health spokeswoman.
“However, we do not believe that the individual was highly infectious at the time of the above exposure events,” she said.
The Ministry of Health is advising Aucklanders to check the locations of interest regularly and follow the advice given.
Ahi Restaurant spokesperson Christopher Martin told Stuff, that although they were surprised to be one of the first Aotearoa locations of interest regarding the Omicron variant, they had prepared for the eventuality. Staff that were close contacts are isolating, and the business will close for multiple days.
Martin said Ahi will stay shut, “Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday as we have now lost half of the front of house team for one week. We have made the decision to manage the lack of staff and... get everyone tested.”
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