• amendments to the restrictions for New Zealand-based aircrew operating international flights.
Changes to the Maritime Border Order include:
• improved clarity on the requirements for foreign ships seeking exemption from the Order to enter New Zealand for the purposes of repair, refit or refurbishment;
• mandating personal protective equipment (PPE) be used in specific high-risk scenarios on ports and ships.
New strain
A new variant of the disease has arrived in the UK and a top New Zealand epidemiologist warns it will be here within the next few weeks.
Top health officials in the UK say there is no evidence the new variant is more deadly, or will react differently to vaccines, but it was proving to be up to 70 per cent more transmissible, the BBC reports.
The Ministry said today health authorities in the UK were in communication with other authorities around the world including New Zealand about the emergence of the strain, known as the B.1.1.7 strain.
It has not been seen in New Zealand cases to date.
"The Ministry of Health is confident New Zealand's current use of PPE, testing strategy and 14-day managed isolation for all arrivals is appropriate. The Ministry continues to review these tools in light of any new and emerging evidence."
The Ministry said it maintained that our most important protection at the border is the 14 days in isolation and/or quarantine, together with daily symptom checks and testing at day 3 and day 12 (with additional testing if symptomatic).
"We are also confident our current PCR testing would detect this and any new strains."
Kiwi epidemiologist Michael Baker said the new Covid-19 strain was only a problem for New Zealand if the virus was imported.
"Basically every time we get an infected person going into a MIQ facility in New Zealand, it increases the risk of outbreaks because mistakes happen and it's a tough virus to control."
Ministry officials also continued to liaise with health officials in New South Wales following an increase in Covid-19 cases in the Australian state.
The specific genome identified in New South Wales has not been seen in New Zealand cases to date.
New cases
Today's new cases include:
• One case arrived on December 10 from the United States. This person tested positive due to the onset of symptoms around day 9 and has been transferred to quarantine in a facility in Christchurch.
• One case arrived on December 10 from the United States. This person tested positive due to the onset of symptoms around day 9 and has been transferred to quarantine in a facility in Christchurch.
• One case arrived on December 16 from South Korea. This person tested positive at routine testing around day 3 and has been transferred to the Auckland quarantine facility.
• One case arrived on December 16. The country of origin is not yet available. This person tested positive at routine testing around day 3 and has been transferred to the Auckland quarantine facility.
• One additional case arrived on December 18 from Russia via Singapore, and was tested on arrival. This result is regarded as indicating previous infection – referred to as an historical case.
The person was tested on arrival before transiting to a fishing vessel in Lyttleton on the same day. The vessel left New Zealand shortly after the crew's arrival and is now in international waters.
It will not be returning to New Zealand for some months. The person had a previous infection, consistent with Covid-19, reported in Russia and their latest test result is interpreted as reflecting that previous infection. The person is not regarded as infectious.
The Ministry is still determining whether this case should be reported against our country's tally (as it has been today) or whether it should be reported as a case in Russia.
One previously reported case has now recovered. The total number of active cases in New Zealand is 59. Our total number of confirmed cases is 1,765.
The total number of tests processed by laboratories to date is 1,374,050.
Over the weekend, there were six new cases of Covid-19 in New Zealand reported, all in managed isolation.
The new cases reported over the weekend had come from South Africa, Australia, the United States and the Netherlands and had all been moved into quarantine facilities, the Ministry of Health said.
One arrived on December 8 from South Africa. This person tested positive at routine testing around day 12 and has been transferred to the Auckland quarantine facility.
One case arrived on December 8 from Australia. This person tested positive at routine testing around day 12 and has been transferred to the Auckland quarantine facility.
One case arrived on December 10 from the United States. This person tested positive around day 7. They were tested as they are a close contact of an existing case in managed isolation. This person is now in quarantine in a facility in Christchurch.
One case arrived on December 15 from the Netherlands, via Qatar and Australia. This person tested positive at routine testing around day 3 and has been transferred to the Auckland quarantine facility.
One case arrived on December 15 from the Netherlands, via Qatar and Australia. This person tested positive at routine testing around day 3 and has been transferred to the Auckland quarantine facility.
One case arrived on December 15 from South Africa. This case has tested positive during routine testing around day 3 and has been transferred to the Auckland quarantine facility.
NZ Covid Tracer and Bluetooth update
The NZ Covid Tracer app now has 2,414,100 registered users.
Poster scans have reached 142,042,068 and app users have created 5,722,190 manual diary entries.
Approximately 390,000 app users have now turned on Bluetooth tracing.
The Ministry of Health said it was pleased by the level of uptake and continues to encourage people to start using the Bluetooth function.
"This will allow you to receive an alert if you have been near another app user who tests positive for Covid-19," the Ministry said.
As New Zealand enters the summer holiday break, the Ministry said it would like to remind everyone to keep each other safe and use the app, to scan QR codes and turn on Bluetooth functionality.
Ministry of Health updates over the holiday period
The Ministry will continue through the holiday period to provide updates about cases and actions taken in response.
Upcoming scheduled reporting dates will be: Wednesday December 23; Sunday December 27; Tuesday December 29; Thursday December 31; Sunday January 3; Tuesday January 5; Thursday January 7 and Sunday January 10.
