4 Cases Per Day Of COVID-19 At Border In Four Days

There has been an average of around four cases per day in the past four days of COVID-19 at the border to report in New Zealand since our last media statement on Wednesday 23 December.

There are no new cases in the community but there is one historical case in the community from seven months ago now confirmed.

During the past four days there has been a total of 16 cases.

· One case arrived on 17 December from the United States. The person tested positive on day seven as they were a close contact of another case on the same flight. This person is now in quarantine in a facility in Christchurch.

· One case arrived on 19 December from India via the United Arab Emirates. This person tested positive at routine testing around day three and has been transferred to Auckland’s quarantine facility.

· Two cases travelling together arrived on 20 December from India via the United Arab Emirates. They tested positive at routine testing around day three. They have both been moved to Auckland’s quarantine facility.

· Two cases, travelling separately, arrived on 20 December from India via the United Arab Emirates and tested positive from routine testing around day three. Both people have now been transferred to Auckland’s quarantine facility.

· One case, an air flight support crew member, arrived on 22 December from France. This person tested positive following routine testing on day two and has been transferred to the Auckland quarantine facility. One close contact has been identified and that person has returned a negative result and is in self-isolation.

· Two cases arrived on 21 December from the United States. They tested positive at routine testing around day three. Both have been transferred to quarantine in a facility in Christchurch.

· One case arrived on 22 December from Pakistan via Qatar and Australia. This person was symptomatic and tested positive on day one. The person has been transferred to Auckland’s quarantine facility.

· One case arrived on 22 December from Malaysia via the United Arab Emirates. The person tested positive at routine testing around day three and has been transferred to Auckland’s quarantine facility.

· One case arrived on 22 December from India via Malaysia and the United Arab Emirates. The person tested positive at routine testing around day three and has been transferred to Auckland’s quarantine facility.

· One case arrived on 22 December from India via the United Arab Emirates. The person tested positive at routine testing around day three. The person has been transferred to Auckland’s quarantine facility.

· One case arrived on 22 December. The last leg of their journey was from Singapore but their country of origin is yet to be confirmed. The person tested positive at routine testing around day three and has now been transferred to Auckland’s quarantine facility.

· One case arrived on 24 December from India via the United Arab Emirates. The person was tested on day one as they were symptomatic. The person has been transferred to Auckland’s quarantine facility.

· One historical case from May is now being confirmed after having been investigated. The person, based in Christchurch, returned a weak positive result in May. The results from additional testing were inconclusive and it was determined the case was likely to be historical at time of diagnosis. At the time, the person was a close contact of a family member who had recently returned from overseas and was in self-isolation at home as managed isolation facilities were yet to be established. The person was fully recovered in May and is now being recorded as a community case to formally close off the investigation.

Fifteen previously reported cases have now recovered. The total number of active cases in New Zealand is 50. Our total number of confirmed cases is 1,788.

The total number of tests processed by laboratories to date is 1,394,812.

NZ COVID Tracer

NZ COVID Tracer now has 2,420,400 registered users.

Poster scans have reached 144,622,903 and app users have created 5,829,315 manual diary entries.

Over the summer holiday break, the Ministry is reminding all New Zealanders to keep each other safe and use the COVID Tracer app to scan QR codes and turn on
Bluetooth functionality.

This will allow you to receive an alert if you have been near another app user who tests positive for COVID-19. Find out more.

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.

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

Upcoming scheduled reporting dates will be: 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.

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