NZ: suspicious packages claiming to be Ebola sent to Australia for testing

[Sally Furniss]

Sky News Melbourne bureau chief Ahron Young said the vial was part of a package from a ?jihadist group? sent to an office this morning, later confirmed to be the New Zealand Herald.

It arrived with a letter claiming that the liquid was a sample of Ebola. It was understood that the mailroom was evacuated and the staff were hosed down.

According to a tweet sent by the Herald, the vial was originally sent to the mailroom, but ?all precautions were taken?.

The package contained a small amount of liquid in a plastic bottle. It was secured by Auckland City Police after it arrived this morning.
http://www.news.com.au/world/plasti...ent-to-nz-herald/story-fndir2ev-1227119525720

As a precaution, the bottle and its contents were transferred to the Institute of Environmental Science and Research. It is to be swabbed for DNA and checked for fingerprints before being sent to Melbourne for testing.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/10731934/Ministry-scotches-Ebola-report

 

[Sally Furniss]

Re: NZ: suspicious package claiming to be Ebola sent to Australia for testing

Re: NZ: suspicious package claiming to be Ebola sent to Australia for testing

A second suspicious package was reportedly delivered to Parliament. Media reports suggest a package containing a similar bottle to the one delivered to the Herald's Albert St mail room in Auckland was sent to Parliament this afternoon.

The Ministry of Health says there is "no Ebola scare" in New Zealand but is assisting police with a case.

​

Read more: http://www.3news.co.nz/world/police-dealing-with-possible-ebola-related-case-2014111116

 

[nola_mnr]

Re: NZ: suspicious packages claiming to be Ebola sent to Australia for testing

http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/10735122/US-embassy-alert-over-suspicious-package

A United States Embassy worker is being decontaminated after a suspicious vial was found in the mail in Wellington this morning.

Police were alerted to the package about 7.20am, police spokesman Nick Bohm said.

A staff member in the mailroom spotted the vial during screening of a package, which was not opened.

A police explosives team was called to the scene, in Thorndon, and removed the package, which was sent to the Institute of Environmental Science and Research (ESR) for testing.
[...]

 

[Pathfinder]

Re: NZ: suspicious packages claiming to be Ebola sent to Australia for testing

Klain: Ebola as a weapon 'unlikely'

<!--endclickprintinclude--><!--startclickprintexclude--><!--no partner-->By Eric Bradner, CNN
updated 5:04 PM EST, Tue November 11, 2014

Washington (CNN) -- White House Ebola czar Ron Klain on Tuesday downplayed the chances of Ebola being used as a biological weapon after a scare in New Zealand.

Klain said he was briefed Tuesday after a small vial supposedly sent by jihadis and containing Ebola was sent to the offices of the New Zealand Herald newspaper. The newspaper sent the vial to Australia for testing.

"Based on our best information, I think the odds are high that this turns out to be a hoax," Klain said on CNN's "The Lead" with Jake Tapper.

He said U.S. officials are "always watching intelligence traffic and other indicators" to see if terror groups are using Ebola or other diseases as biological weapons, but that "we're not aware of any credible threat" and that the odds of that happening are low.
...

http://www.cnn.com/2014/11/11/politics/klain-ebola/index.html

 

[nola_mnr]

Re: NZ: suspicious packages claiming to be Ebola sent to Australia for testing

http://wireupdate.com/ebola-package-sent-to-new-zealand-newspaper-declared-a-hoax.html

AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND (BNO NEWS) -- A suspicious package that was sent to a New Zealand newspaper this week and contained a threatening note that claimed a vial of Ebola was inside has been determined to be a hoax, police said on Thursday, although testing continues on other packages sent to parliament and the U.S. embassy.
[...]