4 New Cases Of COVID-19 In Managed Isolation

There are four new cases of COVID-19 to report in managed isolation in New Zealand since our last media statement on Monday. There are no new cases in the community.

Seventeen previously reported cases have now recovered. The total number of active cases in New Zealand is 43. Our total number of confirmed cases is 1,744.

· Two cases who are part of the same family arrived on 9 December from the Czech Republic via Germany and Singapore. Both people tested positive on day 3 and are now in quarantine in a facility in Christchurch.
· Two cases who travelled together arrived on 10 December from the United States. Both people tested positive around day 3 and are being transferred to quarantine in a facility in Christchurch.

The total number of tests processed by laboratories to date is 1,352,462.

Air New Zealand aircrew member

Final whole genome sequencing results for the positive COVID-19 case of an Air New Zealand aircrew member who flew from the United States show the lineage doesn’t match any genomes previously sequenced in New Zealand. The same genome lineage has been reported in the United States.
The three aircrew members who are close contacts of the aircrew member who tested positive have returned negative day 5 test results.
A fourth person who is a casual contact was transferred to the Auckland quarantine facility as a precaution after developing symptoms. This person has returned a negative test result and remains in the quarantine facility.
NZ COVID Tracer

NZ COVID Tracer now has 2,409,300 registered users.

Poster scans have reached 139,351,943 and users have created 5,614,164 manual diary entries.

Ministry of Health updates over the Christmas period

The Ministry will continue through the Christmas period to provide updates about cases and actions taken in response.

The frequency of reporting continues to reflect the routine nature of the cases appearing at the border in recent returnees in managed isolation facilities.

The Ministry’s current reporting of four times weekly of media updates - on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday - will continue until Wednesday 23 December.

Reporting dates will then be: Sunday 27 December; Tuesday 29 December; Thursday 31 December; Sunday 3 January; Tuesday 5 January; Thursday 7 January and Sunday 10 January.

The Ministry's website will be updated with case numbers in line with these media updates.

These updates will provide the number of cases that have tested positive in managed isolation in the preceding days since the last update.

The reporting schedule for the remainder of January will be provided in the New Year.

The public can be assured that the Ministry will report any significant development, including any case emerging in the community, outside these scheduled reporting dates if required.

At this stage our next media release will be sent at 1pm on Friday.

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