Covid 19 coronavirus: Traveller from New Zealand tests positive in Malaysia

There were four cases in managed isolation yesterday, and three today. Photo / File

A person who flew to Malaysia from New Zealand has tested positive for Covid-19, according to local media reports.

New Straits Times reported today that health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah confirmed one of the 627 new cases to report was a returnee from New Zealand.

"He said the remaining two new cases registered today were imported, both involving Malaysians returning from New Zealand and Singapore, respectively," the New Straits Times reported.

This case was one of 629 new cases in Malaysia, 627 were local transmissions and only two were imported cases.

Malaysia currently has 6323 active cases of Covid-19 and the overall number of infections are 18,758.

Asked to comment, the Ministry of Health said it did report a case of a New Zealander returning to Malaysia who tested positive for Covid-19 in September.

The Ministry of Health has not been contacted by the Malaysian authorities about any new positive cases. It is standard practice to contact the appropriate National Focal Point when seeking information internationally.

Today in New Zealand there are three new cases of Covid-19 to report, all in managed isolation.

The first imported case arrived from Britain via Singapore on October 9 and is in managed quarantine in Christchurch. The person tested positive as part of routine testing around day three.

The second and third imported cases arrived from the United Arab Emirates on October 13 and are today being transferred from managed isolation to Auckland's quarantine facility. They too tested positive as part of routine testing around day three.

Nine people recovered overnight, which means New Zealand's total number of active cases is 40. All are imported cases.

There were four new Covid-19 cases in managed isolation yesterday and a historical case that was being investigated.

The Ministry of Health said it had been investigating the historical case since yesterday morning after the person returned a "weak positive result".