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More than 22,000 coronavirus tests have been carried out in Auckland since an AUT University student tested positive for Covid-19 on Thursday.
The Health Ministry said Wednesday that with the extensive testing it had “greater confidence” that there were no potential undetected links in the recent community transmission chain.
He said that the Auckland Regional Public Health Service (ARPHS) continued to follow up on contacts of existing coronavirus cases as part of the “November quarantine group.”
“No further positive results have been obtained from close contacts of known cases.”
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The group comes from a Defense Forces worker who was stationed at Auckland’s Quarantine Facility, Jet Park.
Abigail Dougherty / Stuff
The masks will be a must for Auckland residents using public transport on Thursday.
Residents of the accommodation facilities being used by the Defense Force where the first case, known as Case A, had undergone a second test and all had come back negative, the ministry said.
“Genome sequencing has shown that cases A, B, D and E are all part of the same outbreak.
“We are still waiting for the sequence of Case C, which is a close contact of Case B.”
The ministry said Tuesday that it had not identified the “exposure event” of how a Defense Force worker recently gave coronavirus to a student at AUT University.
He said ARPHS continued “to look at all possible angles on this source investigation.”
On Wednesday, the ministry said epidemiological investigations are continuing into how Case D, the student, became infected.
The news came when three new cases of the virus were detected in isolation.
The first case arrived from the UK via Dubai on November 14.
The other two cases came from Dubai, also on November 14.
All three tested positive during routine tests on the third day of their stay in controlled isolation.
The total number of active New Zealand cases was now 64.
The total number of confirmed cases in the country was 1,652.
Labs processed 8392 tests for the virus on Tuesday, bringing the total number of tests completed to date to 1,199,426.
On Tuesday, four cases of the virus were found in controlled isolation.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins announced on Monday that masks will be mandatory on Auckland public transport and domestic flights starting Thursday.
Children under the age of 12 are exempt, as are students on school buses.
People with medical conditions that prevent them from wearing a mask or covering their face safely or comfortably, including people with asthma or a disability, are also exempt.
The penalty for not following the order will be a maximum prison sentence of six months or a fine of up to $ 4000.
