Director-general of health Dr Ashley Bloomfield during a Covid-19 response update. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Director-general of health Dr Ashley Bloomfield during a Covid-19 response update. Photo / Mark Mitchell
It's been nine days since a case of Covid-19 spread via community transmission was reported, while the Pakistan cricket team has been caught out breaking managed isolation rules.
Six cricket players tested positive for the virus yesterday, while some team members were snapped on CCTV breaking the rules on day one in managed isolation in Christchurch.
The Government has bowled the whole team a "final warning" for breaching isolation rules, despite health officials' "clear, consistent and detailed communication".
They are the second cricket team to contravene requirements, with the West Indies squad also in hot water earlier in the month for also flouting quarantine rules.
The development has thrown the team's preparation for their upcoming Twenty20 and Test series against the Black Caps into turmoil.
The Pakistan cricket team arriving in Christchurch on November 24, 2020. Photo / Supplied
New Zealand's last case of the virus reported due to community transmission was on November 18, and health officials say it's likely the Air New Zealand staffer, who tested positive for the virus in China, contracted it overseas.
Genome sequencing hasn't connected the case to any in New Zealand and nine tests of close contacts have returned negative results.
The case isn't being counted in New Zealand's official numbers as it was first reported in China.
Meanwhile, there has been more positive news on the vaccine front.
New Zealanders will have free-access to a Covid-19 shot once it's available, Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy said yesterday in a speech as part of the reopening of Parliament.
Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy reading the Speech from the Throne during the State Opening of Parliament. Photo / Supplied
She said the Government will look for opportunities for freer travel with nations that are successfully managing the virus, with talks around travel bubbles with the Cook Islands, Niue, and Australia underway.
However, New Zealanders hoping for a Gold Coast holiday anytime soon have had their hopes dashed this week, with Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk telling Australian media that opening international borders would be "catastrophic".
While the premier announced the Sunshine State's border would open with Victoria on December 1, she insisted it was still too soon to commit to a transtasman bubble.
Sitting on Santa's knee is now a thing of the past at Smith & Caughey's. Photo / Supplied
In the lead-up to Christmas, the long-standing childhood tradition of a photo sitting on Santa's knee has been banned at Auckland department store Smith & Caughey's Enchanted Forest.
Instead, kids will have to sit next to St Nick.
Prior to the confirmation of the six cricketers testing positive, New Zealand's most recent case of the virus, reported yesterday, arrived on November 14 from the United Kingdom, via the United Arab Emirates and Malaysia.
They tested positive around day 12 of their managed isolation, bringing the total number of active cases in the country to 60.
