Covid-19: Four new cases, one in hospital

A man recently returned from overseas has been admitted to Auckland City Hospital. Photo: NZ Herald
A man recently returned from overseas has been admitted to Auckland City Hospital. Photo: NZ Herald
New Zealand has four new cases of Covid-19, all picked up at the border. Three are in managed isolation, while a fourth is in an Auckland hospital.

Dr Ashley Bloomfield. Photo: ODT files
Dr Ashley Bloomfield. Photo: ODT files
There continues to be no cases in the community. The latest cases bring the number of active cases in New Zealand to 20 and the total number of confirmed cases now stands at 1176.

The Ministry of Health said on Sunday the four new cases involve people who have recently returned from overseas. Three are now in quarantine at the Jet Park facility in Auckland.

The fourth case is a man in Auckland City Hospital who is a stable condition on a ward. 

Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield said while news that a man has been hospitalised "may be concerning to some, it is something the health system in New Zealand has remained prepared for" and all appropriate precautions were being taken.  

“I want to reassure the wider community that this person is receiving good treatment from the team at Auckland City Hospital who have previous experience of managing positive cases."

The pandemic was still accelerating overseas and new cases were to be expected at New Zealand's border, the Health Ministry said.

CASE DETAILS

• The first case is a woman in her 30s who arrived in New Zealand from India on June 14. She is the wife of a previous case who tested positive on June 21 and had been isolating separately from her husband since his positive test. She tested positive on day 11 of her stay.

• The second case is a man in his 30s who arrived into New Zealand from Nepal via Sydney on June 18 (Flight NZ102). He tested positive on day three of his time at the Novotel Ellerslie. Three close family contacts of the man travelling with him have also been tested, with two negative results and a third pending. All will be checked daily and retested if they develop symptoms or at day 12 of their stay.

• The third case is a man in his 30s who was in isolation at the Grand Millennium hotel. His result also came as a result of day three testing. Further details are being established by Auckland Regional Public Health.

• The fourth case is a man in his 30s who was isolating at the Haka Hotel in Auckland, having arrived into New Zealand on June 24 on Flight AI1316. Following the onset of symptoms, he was taken by ambulance to Auckland City Hospital last night and was tested for Covid-19. He remains in the hospital in a stable condition on a ward and has not required ICU level care.

The Ministry of Health said members of staff treating the fourth case were made aware that the man had returned from overseas to a managed quarantine facility and appropriate protocols were followed, including the use of personal protection equipment. No members of staff were considered close contacts. The patient was cared for in a separate room in the clinical assessment unit at Auckland City Hospital before being transferred to a separate room on one of the hospital wards.

The Ministry said New Zealand's  strict border controls, in particular the 14-day stay in managed isolation or quarantine, ensure that arrivals are managed with appropriate public health protocols and isolated from other Kiwis while they may be incubating the virus. 

“What these cases once again reinforce is the critical importance of these 14 days spent in managed isolation or quarantine together with daily symptom checks,” Dr Bloomfield said.

“Even with all arrivals being tested twice during their stay in managed isolation, we also continue to do a daily check for symptoms consistent with Covid-19 as part of our broader programme, which includes strict protocols in our managed isolation and quarantine facilities."

Laboratories completed 5321 tests on Saturday, bringing the total number of tests completed to date to 392,756. This includes testing at managed isolation facilities and community-based testing across the country. 

The Health Ministry said of the 2159 people who left managed isolation facilities between June 9 and June 16, some 1253 people have been contacted and have tested negative for Covid-19; 800 of those were tested before leaving managed isolation and the remaining 453 were tested after departure from the facility. 

Some 342 people have been referred for a test and the Ministry is waiting for these results. There are 427 people who staff have repeatedly tried to make contact with, including via text and via phone calls.

The Ministry said people who were in a managed isolation facility between June 9 and 16, and who have not yet spoken with Healthline, should call the dedicated team on (09) 302-0408. 

NZ COVID Tracer has now recorded 583,000 registrations. 

 

 

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