Delegates who attended the World Hereford Conference in Queenstown are at the centre of a coronavirus cluster.

Seventeen people associated with a Queenstown cattle conference have now tested positive for covid-19, one of New Zealand's largest clusters of the disease.

More infections are feared as it emerges that hundreds of delegates were given the go-ahead by health officials to go on sightseeing trips around the New Zealand despite an attendee falling sick with coronavirus after his return to Australia.

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MARJORIE COOK/STUFF A file photo of the Wanaka A & P show. Anyone who was felt unwell after the show were urged to contact Healthline or their GP.

The World Hereford Conference in Queenstown, Marist College in Auckland, the Ruby Princess cruise ship, and a wedding in the lower North Island are all at the centre of significant outbreaks.

World Hereford Conference organisers say the outbreak associated with their event could have been prevented if health authorities had shared vital information with them.

Former Queenstown couple Scott and Bea Bellingham said their week-long conference had delegates from around the world including North and South America, Europe, the United Kingdom, Australia, and South Africa.

The World Hereford Conference The World Hereford Conference pre tour around the North Island.

That conference wrapped up on Friday, March 13 at a busy Wanaka A&P show. The following Tuesday, March 17, their client - NZ Herefords - told the Bellinghams that one Australian had returned home and tested positive for Covid-19.

What happened next appears to reveal the confusion and mis-steps being taken by those charged with containing the outbreak.

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The World Hereford Conference The World Hereford Conference post tour around the South Island.

The Bellinghams made repeated attempts to reach the Ministry of Health but said they couldn't get hold of anyone.

They then told the Millennium Hotel in Queenstown, and then Destination Queenstown, part of a response team on behalf of the Queenstown Lakes District Council who in turn liaised with the Ministry of Health.

The couple said they were advised to keep the test results confidential "so that medical professionals could complete guest tracing".

John Hawkins/Stuff Ascot Park hotel manager Bryan Townley was part of a catering team that cooked a BBQ for 400 delegates attending a World Hereford Conference in Queenstown.

They later heard from a client - not the Ministry of Health - that given the length of time since the overseas guest had tested positive, "they deemed it low risk that he was infectious during the conference".

On Wednesday March 18, Herefords NZ confirmed the news to their Facebook page, urging all attendees keep alert for any symptoms, and to isolate if they became unwell.

"The risk is deemed low due to the fact that the person (who only attended the World Hereford Conference 2020, and did not stay at the conference hotels or attend any of the tours), was considered to be contagious after leaving the conference," the post said.

KEVIN STENT/STUFF Dr Ashley Bloomfield, Director-General of Health, confirmed conference delegates had tested positive for coronavirus.

The post advised that the official advice for the South Island Post Tour was to "proceed as planned".

An email, which the Ministry of Health provided copy for, was sent to all delegates and obtained by Stuff went even further: "The Ministry of Health have advised the group to proceed as planned including an enjoyable trip into (the) city".

Less than a week later Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield confirmed six people who had attended the Hereford Conference in Queenstown had since tested positive, and by Friday it had increased to 17, with one probable, and more were expected.

That includes the unwell Australian, a farmer from Uruguay, a West Otago woman, and a Dunedin woman in her 30s. On Tuesday, the seventh case was identified as a Te Aroha coach driver who tested positive for coronavirus after coming in contact with two overseas visitors at the conference.

The 58-year-old man was one of four drivers taking Hereford conference delegates from March 9-13.

On March 26 the Southern DHB confirmed 12 new cases of COVID-19, with "at least one" attending the Wanaka A&P Show in association with people who were at the World Hereford Conference.

Anyone who developed symptoms of COVID-19 and who attended the Wanaka A & P show, was urged to contact Healthline or their GP.

On March 27, Lincoln University confirmed a student who attended the conference had tested positive for coronavirus, and another student was a probable case.

The DHB noted more COVID-19 cases were expected in coming days as a result of exposure at the conference.

It is unclear how many of the now confirmed affected cases travelled on one of the conference's many itineraries, including around the North and South Islands.

A sold-out pre-tour conference around the North Island saw delegates stay in Auckland, Rotorua, Napier, Masterton and Wellington. Their itinerary included trips to Te Puia and Huka Falls, as well as visits to seven farms.

After the Queenstown conference, 153 delegates enjoyed a five-night trip staying in Te Anau, Invercargill, Dunedin and finishing on March 18 in Christchurch. They visited 11 farms and were entertained at venues including the Bill Richardson Transport World in Invercargill on Sunday, March 15.

'THE HORSE HAS BOLTED'

Ascot Park Hotel manager Bryan Townley, who was also a contestant in New Zealand's X-Factor series in 2013, has been in self isolation since Sunday after cooking a BBQ with his catering team for 400 cattle conference guests at a Central Otago high country station.

"Eleven days have gone since our last contact with the group. We were oblivious there could have been a problem. They were very proactive and contacted everyone but by that point the horse has bolted."

Townley was part of a group of nine caterers, including the hotel's head chef Simon Henry, who cooked for the delegates.

"If there had been any element of risk we would not have gone and done the catering but the information at that point in the country - there was only a couple of cases. Fortunately, there are no signs anyone has contracted it."

One of the group who had felt unwell had been tested and the results were negative, he said.

Others had contacted Healthline for advice.

"We have all got families and lives to live. It's life-changing stuff when you realise how quickly it can move."

'UNPRECEDENTED'

The Bellinghams said they were never asked about their suppliers, who worked at the event, or given any direction for their own staff.

The health official asked for a full guest list, and declined to name those infected and their itinerary.

"We have been given no direction to self-isolate our team or suppliers."We know this is an absolutely unprecedented situation, but we have felt very anxious for our suppliers and staff who we're unable to tell who has had direct contact with these people."

NZ Herefords president Colin Corney, of Ohaupo, said he had been told by health authorities not to comment, referring all questions to a media spokeswoman who confirmed all delegates had been contacted by the health ministry.

840 CLOSE CONTACTS

The conference had extensive reach: 400 people from 18 countries attended the event in Queenstown. Contact tracing has identified 840 close contacts according to a joint statement from Ministry of Health, Southern District Health Board and Canterbury District Health Board.

"The World Hereford Conference is a clear example of the very real need for action by all of us to help stamp out clusters of Covid-19. This action includes health authorities acting swiftly and appropriately to provide initial advice and then actively investigating every case they are notified about.



"The first case health authorities were informed about wasn't exhibiting typical symptoms at the time of the conference. He returned to Australia where he subsequently tested positive for Covid-19."



When alerted to this person having tested positive, organisers contacted public health officials at Southern and Canterbury District Health Boards - where some of the participants had travelled.

Destination Queenstown chief executive Ann Lockhart said "it would have been inappropriate for us to share this information or become further involved in this process, while the ministry undertook contact tracing to verify the information".



