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 Sunday.
There are no new cases in the community.
Of the new border cases:
Arrival
date: 6 January
- One case arrived from Russia via
Singapore and tested positive during routine testing around
day 3. This person is in a quarantine facility in
Christchurch.
- One case arrived from Russia via
Singapore and tested positive during routine testing around
day 0. This person is in a quarantine facility in
Christchurch.
- One case arrived from Russia via the
United Arab Emirates and tested positive during routine
testing around day 3. This person is in a quarantine
facility in Christchurch.
Note: The above three cases are
part of the group of international mariners reported on
yesterday. In total, 14 positive COVID-19 cases have been
identified in this group: eight are deemed historical; three
are new active cases; and further testing of the three new
cases reported today may determine if they are also
historical cases.
Arrival date: 9 January
-
One case arrived from the United Kingdom via the United Arab
Emirates and tested positive during routine testing around
day 1. This person has been transferred to the Auckland
quarantine facility.
One case has now recovered. One
previously reported case is now regarded as not a case. This
case previously tested positive in the United Kingdom prior
to travelling to New Zealand and has therefore been
determined as a historical case. This case is being removed
from New Zealand’s tally while we confirm it has been
reported in the United Kingdom. The total number of active
cases in New Zealand is now 77. Our total number of
confirmed cases is 1,866.
The total number of tests
processed by laboratories to date is
1,441,163.
COVID-19 variants
All
positive COVID-19 tests in New Zealand are sent to ESR for
whole genome sequencing as part of ongoing surveillance and
our overall elimination strategy.
As reported in
yesterday’s media release, whole genome sequencing has
identified a total of 19 cases of COVID-19 at the border
with the variant known as B.1.1.7 (UK variant) and one case
with the variant identified as B.1.351 (South Africa
variant) in New Zealand since 13 December 2020.
Please
note that yesterday’s media release reported the UK
variant as B1.1.17. This was incorrect. The correct variant
is B.1.1.7.
Further work to identify and better
understand these variants is ongoing in New Zealand and
internationally. Current research suggests the B.1.1.7
variant is around one and a half times more transmissible
than previous variants but there is no evidence at this
stage that the length of the infection period is any
different to any other variant of COVID-19, nor is there
evidence that it causes more severe illness. We are also
closely monitoring emerging research on the B.1.351
variant.
The recent increase in COVID-19 cases at New
Zealand’s borders is expected, given case numbers continue
to increase globally.
We are also expecting to see more historical cases being detected in managed isolation due to an increasing number of people becoming infected and recovering before travelling to New Zealand. While these individuals may still have residual viral particles in their nasopharynx, which are picked up by our tests, they are no longer considered to be infectious.
Anyone who has tested positive must meet the recovered case definition before being allowed to leave the facility as assessed by the medical team. This includes a period of at least 72 hours without any symptoms and a minimum of 10 days since symptom onset or a positive test.
The Ministry of Health continues to monitor overseas developments very closely and is constantly reviewing and strengthening our response to COVID-19. This includes optimising our current stringent border processes including testing, regularly reviewing infection prevention procedures and undertaking whole genome sequencing of all cases to ensure New Zealand stays free of COVID-19. Since 1 January 2021 people arriving from the US and UK are tested on arrival and required to stay in their room until they return a negative test result. In addition, pre-departure testing will start to come into effect later this week (11.59 pm NZT on 15 January 2021) with the aim of reducing the number of cases of COVID-19 arriving in New Zealand.
NZ COVID Tracer
NZ COVID Tracer now has 2,436,500 registered users.
Poster scans have reached 150,761,051 and users have now created more than 6,085,446 manual diary entries.
Ministry of Health updates
The Ministry will continue 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 will be releasing media updates on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.
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 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.