Covid 19 coronavirus: Three new cases in managed isolation

There are three new cases of Covid-19 all detected in recent returnees in managed isolation.

There are no new community cases today.

Of the recent returnees who have tested positive for Covid-19:

• One person arrived from the United Kingdom via Dubai on November 14
• Two people arrived from Dubai on November 14

All three people tested positive during routine testing around day 3 of their time in managed isolation.

There are 64 active cases of Covid-19 in New Zealand.

Defence Force cluster

Auckland Regional Public Health Service was continuing to follow up contacts from existing cases that are part of the newest cluster, and no further positive results had come back from close contacts of known cases.

Residents at the accommodation facility that the New Zealand Defence Force was using in Auckland where a worker, Case A, had been staying had all had a second test, and those had all come back negative.

The genome sequencing has shown that Cases A, B, D and E are all part of the same outbreak. Health officials were still awaiting the sequencing from Case C, who is a close contact of Case B.

Epidemiological investigations continue as to how Case D, an AUT student, was infected.

The ministry said wide testing around these known cases allowed officials to have greater confidence that there were not possible undetected links in the chain of transmission.
Laboratories in Auckland had received more than 22,000 tests from the community since Case D came to light on Thursday, all returning negative results except for Case E, who is a close contact and neighbour of Case D.

Officials continued to encourage anyone who visited a location of interest during the relevant time period to get tested to ensure quick identification of anyone who may have been infected.

Yesterday, laboratories processed 8392 tests.

Anyone who developed cold or flu symptoms anywhere in the country was urged to immediately get in touch with their health care provider or Healthline and get a test.

"Our systems have the best chance of staying ahead of Covid-19 if everyone who becomes unwell with cold or flu like symptoms, stays at home and seeks a test quickly, and all New Zealanders are keeping track of where they have been and who they have seen," said the ministry.

Since last Friday's quasi-lockdown of Auckland's central business district, more than 21,000 tests have taken place in the community.

To date only one new case in the community has been detected - Case E, who was considered a close contact and already in quarantine.

A pop-up testing clinic on Auckland's Freyberg Place remained open until at least Friday and anyone who had visited a location of interest in the central city within the relevant time period and had not yet been tested were encouraged to do so.

The latest health scare has prompted a mask rule change for commuters using Auckland public transport and domestic air travel. Passengers must now wear a mask when travelling on buses, ferries, trains and planes.

The health ministry also announced it would be trialling new Bluetooth contract tracing technology at this weekend's Beervana festival in Wellington.

It featured an automatic check-in feature that used Bluetooth beacons, bypassing the need to scan QR codes.