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There is one new Covid case at the border in New Zealand today, and another death has been confirmed.

Today's new case is a woman in her 30s who arrived from Dubai on the 9th of September and is managed isolation. She is linked to the three border cases announced yesterday.

Director general of health Ashley Bloomfield also confirmed the death of a 54-year-old man, after reports emerged earlier today.

Nigel Te Hiko had died in Waikato Hospital, nearly two weeks after his brother Alan died in Auckland from the virus.

Nigel (54) is believed to have contracted Covid from Alan, who had worked at the Americold facility in Auckland.

He is the 25th New Zealander to die of Covid-19 and the youngest.

Dr Bloomfield said Te Hiko's family had a message for New Zealanders:

"The man's whanau has asked us to tell the country that coronavirus is so real and to be vigilant and cautious," Bloomfield said.

"They have issued a plea to all New Zealanders: If you are sick and have symptoms stay home and seek advice about getting a test," he said.

Bloomfield said the man's death highlighted the seriousness of Covid-19 and said his thoughts were with Te Hiko's family.

"Ngāti Raukawa has lost clearly a rangitira...they mourn the loss of their loved one."

Nigel lived in Tokoroa and had been visited by his brother before Auckland's August lockdown.

Bloomfield says three people are in hospital and two are in intensive care.

There are 57 people linked to the Auckland community cluster who remain in an Auckland quarantine facility and that includes 27 people who have tested positive as well as household contacts.

Since the first case was identified in the Auckland cluster, contact tracing teams have identified 4139 close contacts of cases, of which 4046 have been contacted and are self-isolating, Bloomfield says.

"We are in the process of contacting the rest."

The total number of active cases is 79: 27 of those are imported cases.

The total number of confirmed cases is now 1451.

 - additional reporting RNZ

 

 

Comments

Any comments Judith? Winston? How about you Jamie Lee?

Did the deniers, conspiracy theorists and free speech above everything brigade get the message?

Any comment from the denier group would automatically be seen as disrespectful. Their silence is golden.

i think you three trying to make this political is disrespectful, get a grip

We don't need to try, it already is.