New Zealand records Fresh cases of COVID19

[HappyFlyerFamily]

Rest of NZ going from Alert 2 to Alert 1 at midnight tonight.

Auckland is going from Alert 2 plus to Alert 2 on Thursday. Auckland’s Alert 2 is expected for 14 days (ie to 7 October) will be reviewed on 5 October.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

Media release by NZ Ministry of Health
22 September 2020

There are no new cases of COVID-19 to report in New Zealand today.

There are 39 people isolating in the Auckland quarantine facility from the community, which includes 18 people who have tested positive for COVID-19 and their household contacts.

Three people are in hospital with COVID-19 – one each at Auckland City, Middlemore and North Shore hospitals. All three patients are in isolation on a general ward.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

3 new cases of COVID-19 and 6 historical cases
Media release by NZ Ministry of Health
23 September 2020

Today there are three new cases of COVID-19 to report in New Zealand and for the first time six historical cases are being reported, made up of one confirmed case dating back to February and five probable historical cases connected to the case also dating back to February.

None of the new community cases are connected to the Auckland August community cluster.

Today’s three new community cases are a family group linked to a previously reported Christchurch to Auckland chartered flight. They have been self-isolating over the last three days.

Of the six historical cases dating back to February, one of these is a confirmed historical case and there are five probable historical cases linked. Additional detail is provided below.

There are 37 people isolating in the Auckland quarantine facility from the community, which includes 17 people who have tested positive for COVID-19 and their household contacts.

Three people are in hospital with COVID-19 – one each at Auckland City, Middlemore and North Shore hospitals. All three patients are in isolation on a general ward.

Since August 11, our contact tracing team has identified 4,014 close contacts of cases, of which 4,006 have been contacted and are self-isolating or have completed self-isolation. We are in the process of contacting the rest.

There are two additional previously reported cases now considered to have recovered from COVID-19.

Our total number of active cases is 62; of those, 28 are imported cases in MIQ facilities, and 34 are community cases.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

Only 3 cases in quarantine reported today.



Media release by NZ Ministry of Health
24 September 2020

Today there are three new cases of COVID-19 to report in New Zealand – all detected in recent returnees in managed isolation facilities. There are no new community cases.

The three new cases are all separate returnees who arrived on different flights from the United States on 18 September; from London via Dubai on 16 September and from Croatia via Frankfurt and Dubai on 18 September. Two are in quarantine in Auckland; the third case is in quarantine in Rotorua.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

One new community case and linked to the Auckland cluster. The first from that cluster for a little while as the more recent community cases had been from the Hotel Quarantine Guest.


2 new cases of COVID-19
Media release by NZ Ministry of Health
25 September 2020

Today there are two new cases of COVID-19 to report in New Zealand.
One is an imported case detected in a managed isolation facility and the other is a community case – a female in her late teens who was already self-isolating. This person is a household contact, epidemiologically linked to the Auckland August cluster bereavement sub-group.

The imported case is a man in his 40s who returned from Russia on a flight via Turkey and Malaysia on 19 September. He returned a positive result to day 3 testing and is now at the quarantine facility in Auckland.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

No new recent community cases.

Media release by NZ Health
26 September 2020

Today there are two cases of COVID-19 to report in New Zealand.

Of today’s cases, one is an imported case detected in a managed isolation facility and the other is a historical case detected during contact tracing.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

NZ continues to have zero community cases (known and unknown).

Media release
27 September 2020

Today there are two cases of COVID-19 in managed isolation to report in New Zealand.
Of today’s cases, both are imported cases detected in a managed isolation facility. One person arrived on a flight from Germany on 21 September via the United Arab Emirates and Malaysia.

The other person who tested positive arrived in New Zealand on a flight from the Philippines via Taiwan on 23 September. Both individuals tested positive as a result of tests done around day three and have now both been transferred to the Auckland quarantine facility.
There are no new cases in the community.



Media release
28 September 2020

There are no new cases of COVID-19 to report in New Zealand today.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

All of the various outbreaks that formed the NZ Second Wave now seem to be under control, and so after today unless something new occurs I will cease updating this thread. New cases now just seem to travellers arriving into NZ and are in quarantine.


Media release by NZ Ministry of Health
29 September 2020

There are two new cases of COVID-19 to report in New Zealand today.

Both are imported cases detected in a managed isolation facility.

One person arrived on a flight from Ukraine on 23 September via the United Arab Emirates.

The other person arrived in New Zealand on a flight from Pakistan via the United Arab Emirates on 23 September. They were on the same flight but not travelling together. Both individuals tested positive as a result of tests done around day three and have been transferred to the Auckland quarantine facility.
There are no new cases in the community.

 

[moa999]

Big numbers today, all imported, including 10 on a single flight from India

Twelve new Covid cases - 10 from same Air India flight

It's possible we could see more cases linked to flight from India on September 26.

www.nzherald.co.nz

Daily arrivals are 300-500, about the same as NSW

Passenger Statistics

www.customs.govt.nz

 

[HappyFlyerFamily]

Restrictions in Auckland set to be lifted

All coronavirus restrictions are set to be lifted across New Zealand's biggest city later this week.

The country's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says Auckland will join the rest of the country at alert level one on Wednesday.

She says there's now a 95 per cent probability that the cluster which broke out in the city has now been eliminated.

...from ABC Covid live blog

 

[jakeseven7]

And now to wait for the next one!

 

[jakeseven7]

And here is the next one!

----


New Zealand's three-week streak without a community Covid case ends as port worker falls ill


After 22 days of no new Covid-19 cases in the community, a port worker in New Zealand has tested positive for the coronavirus.

The case is a New Zealand man who worked at the ports of Taranaki and Auckland and began showing symptoms on Friday, before testing positive on Saturday evening.


Dr Ashley Bloomfield, the director general of health, was alerted to the positive test in the final hour of voting on Saturday in New Zealand’s election – in which prime minister Jacinda Ardern was rewarded for her success in twice eliminating the virus.
https://www.theguardian.com/austral...inger-at-victoria-over-new-zealand-travellers
The man and his family are now in isolation, and Bloomfield said the case was being treated as an isolated encounter that had most likely seen the man infected on the border, rather than through widespread community circulation.

“The risk is contained,” Bloomfield said on Saturday. “The emergence of a new community case is unsettling, and we need to remain vigilant.

New Zealand's three-week streak without local Covid case ends as port worker falls ill

Jacinda Ardern says case is an example of the system working, as Dr Ashley Bloomfield urges continued vigilance

www.theguardian.com

 

[lovetravellingoz]

And here is the next one!

----


New Zealand's three-week streak without a community Covid case ends as port worker falls ill


After 22 days of no new Covid-19 cases in the community, a port worker in New Zealand has tested positive for the coronavirus.

The case is a New Zealand man who worked at the ports of Taranaki and Auckland and began showing symptoms on Friday, before testing positive on Saturday evening.


Dr Ashley Bloomfield, the director general of health, was alerted to the positive test in the final hour of voting on Saturday in New Zealand’s election – in which prime minister Jacinda Ardern was rewarded for her success in twice eliminating the virus.
Immigration minister points finger at Victoria over New Zealand travellers
The man and his family are now in isolation, and Bloomfield said the case was being treated as an isolated encounter that had most likely seen the man infected on the border, rather than through widespread community circulation.

“The risk is contained,” Bloomfield said on Saturday. “The emergence of a new community case is unsettling, and we need to remain vigilant.

New Zealand's three-week streak without local Covid case ends as port worker falls ill

Jacinda Ardern says case is an example of the system working, as Dr Ashley Bloomfield urges continued vigilance

www.theguardian.com

Quite possibly this is how the index case of the NZ Second Wave occurred.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

Yesterday's NZ Health Report:


3 new cases of COVID-19
Media release
18 October 2020

There is one new community case of COVID-19 to report in New Zealand today.

There are also two imported cases of COVID-19 to report in New Zealand today.

There is also one new historical case of COVID-19 to report in New Zealand today – this is the case first reported on Friday, and which is now officially included in our reporting. That person is also considered to have recovered from their infection.
One case from managed isolation reported yesterday is now under investigation to determine whether it is a historic case, and therefore has been removed from our tally until this is resolved.
Our total number of confirmed cases is now 1,530, which is the number we report to the World Health Organization.

Our total number of active cases is 42.

The first new imported case arrived on October 5 from England via Dubai and tested positive at routine testing around day 12 of their time in managed isolation.

The second new imported case arrived on October 13 from Dubai and tested positive at routine testing around day 3 of their time in managed isolation.
Both imported cases have been transferred to the Auckland quarantine facility.

Yesterday our laboratories completed 3,390 tests for COVID-19, bringing our total number of tests completed to date to 1,030,115.

Community case
This case shows our systems to identify cases are working, and we have a clear line of investigation as to the source of this person’s infection.
This case has also been caught early and the risk of onward transmission has been quickly contained.

This case is a man whose employment involves him working on ships at ports in New Zealand, including in the past two weeks the Ports of Auckland and the Port of Taranaki. We know the border is an area of risk for more cases of this virus to emerge, and that is why we have routine testing and other stringent measures in place.

This man has been diligent about getting his regular COVID-19 workplace tests and he has been tested regularly as part of routine border testing. Most recently he returned a negative test result from routine testing at the Ports of Auckland on October 2. On Friday October 16, the man left work after developing symptoms. He was tested for COVID-19 as soon as he became symptomatic, and that test has returned a positive result.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

Comment:

Cases like this should be expected from time to time as a country needs freight in order to exist. Mistakes etc will happen.

It should all just be considered part of the "new normal" and should not be panicked about, but yes just demonstrates that ongoing measures are required and particularly in high risk setting such as ports. ie The WA iron ore carriers .

 

[lovetravellingoz]

Suspected historical case under investigation
Media release by NZ Ministry of Health
19 October 2020

The Ministry of Health is investigating a suspected historical case of COVID-19 that has been detected in a crew member on the IVS Merlion which is currently docked in the Port of Tauranga.

The crew member has returned a weak positive COVID-19 test, with a high CT value, that indicates an old infection.

It appears most likely that this crew member had COVID-19 some time ago and is no longer infectious. The IVS Merlion arrived into New Zealand waters on October 15 after departing Indonesia on September 24.

This infection has not been passed on to any other crew member – they have all tested negative and have been on board the vessel for three weeks.
Additionally, no crew members have come ashore, so there is very low risk of transmission to the New Zealand community.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

Today's NZ Health Report:

Note that the bolded part below is information on the latest outbreak which still stands at 1 case.

Media release
20 October 2020

There is one new imported case of COVID-19 to report in New Zealand today. There are no new community cases.

Today’s imported case arrived on October 7 from Kenya via Dubai and was taken to a managed isolation facility in Auckland.

They tested positive at routine testing around day 12 of their stay and have been transferred to the Auckland quarantine facility
.
Our total number of confirmed cases is now 1,531, which is the number we report to the World Health Organization.

Five previously reported cases are now considered to have recovered, bringing our total number of active cases to 33.

There are 30 community close contacts identified in relation to the port worker case, and all of those have been contacted and are self-isolating.

All the test results returned from close and casual contacts of the case announced on Sunday are negative to date.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

A bit happeningg in New Zealand.

NZ Ministry of Health


25 new cases of COVID-19
Media release

NZ Ministry of Health

21 October 2020
There are 25 new cases of COVID-19 to report in New Zealand today
– 23 of these are imported cases caught at the border.

- Two are cases linked to the port worker reported on Sunday, who are workplace contacts.

Workplace cases
The first case we are reporting today was previously considered a casual contact of the port worker reported on Sunday. The person had a very short exposure on Friday to the case announced on Sunday and they were tested on Sunday with a negative result. The new case today became symptomatic yesterday and was tested and returned a positive result. Their household contact is now also being tested.

The second case has come into our database after 9am and will therefore be reflected in tomorrow’s official numbers, but we are reporting it today because of the significant public interest.

This person is the previously reported workplace close contact of the port worker reported on Sunday. They have been in the Auckland quarantine facility since Sunday October 18 and have previously been swabbed five times for COVID-19 as part of routine port surveillance testing - including last Friday, when they returned a negative test result. They developed symptoms yesterday while at the quarantine facility, was swabbed again yesterday, and returned a positive result after 9am this morning.

Their household contacts had already been tested with negative results and will now remain in self-isolation for the full 14-day period.
Detailed interviews and contact tracing are underway for these people, and we are taking a very precautionary approach to managing these cases.
Infection via the Sofrana Surville continues to be the most likely hypothesis but we are also revisiting this theory in light of these new cases.

The Sofrana Surville arrived in Brisbane yesterday and Australian authorities will undertake testing and will communicate the results from the 19 crew members to us when they are available.

Cases in Christchurch’s Sudima
Eighteen imported cases are in managed isolation at the Sudima in Christchurch. They arrived from Moscow via Singapore on a chartered flight on 16 October.

In order to help manage any risks, the 235 people who arrived on this flight were all taken to the same facility, and the majority of them were sharing a room with another person.

Positive cases have been moved into the dedicated quarantine wing at the facility and all occupants of the hotel will be retested on day 6 of their stay.
All staff at this facility have also been tested over the last three days.

Testing will also be made available to family members of staff from the managed isolation facility, and staff numbers are being increased at the site.
People working at the airport when these travellers arrived are being asked to be tested if they haven’t already been tested in the last two days, and the bus company will be testing its drivers.

Other imported cases
In addition, there are three unrelated imported cases who arrived from London via Singapore on October 16th and tested positive at routine day 3 testing in managed isolation in Christchurch.

A further two imported cases are people in MIQ in Auckland. The first person arrived on October 16 from Jordan via Dubai and Kuala Lumpur and tested positive at routine day 3 testing. The second person arrived on October 17 from Malaysia and also tested positive at routine day 3 testing.
In summary, we have a large number of cases today. Two are close contacts associated with our community case, and all appropriate precautions around this have been put in place.

The others are part of a well-established managed isolation and border management system that was set up to do exactly what it is doing – that’s finding and isolating imported cases at the border.

Numbers
Two previously reported cases are now considered to have recovered, bringing our total number of active cases to 56.

 

[jakeseven7]

So will they lock Auckland down. Again?

Surely that strategy is getting long in the tooth....

 

[lovetravellingoz]

So will they lock Auckland down. Again?

Surely that strategy is getting long in the tooth....

Probably not.

1/ They are alert to it and it is being chased down earlier (which is what one wants to see anywhere including here in Australia

and 2/ No election for 3 years (Though I do not believe that Ardern is overly driven by that style of thinking)