Covid 19 coronavirus: three new cases in managed isolation

There are three new cases of Covid-19 in managed isolation.

Today there are no new community cases.

Of today’s new border cases:

• One person arrived from Romania (via Qatar and Brisbane) on November 3. They were already at our Auckland quarantine facility as a contact for three previously confirmed cases. They returned a positive result on routine tests on day 12.

• One person arrived from Dubai on November 15th. They returned a positive result to routine testing on day three and are being transferred to quarantine at our Auckland facility.

• One person arrived from Qatar via Brisbane on November 17. They returned a positive result to routine testing on day three and are being transferred to quarantine at our Auckland facility.

There are no new recovered cases, which means there are 40 active Covid-19 cases in New Zealand.

The total number of confirmed local cases is now 1,657.

The last reported community case was on Sunday. That person was a close contact for a student at Auckland University of Technology who contracted the infection from the first Defense Forces worker to become ill. They were already in a quarantine facility when they tested positive.

They are all part of the November quarantine group, which currently numbers five people in Auckland and Wellington.

The health authorities revealed yesterday that they are still following up on the contacts of the existing cases that were part of this group.

All 23 close contacts of the defense worker, a man working at the Jet Park quarantine facility, had tested negative on the 12th and all occupants of his Auckland apartment, the Waldorf Apartments, had tested negative on the tests on the 12th.

But, promisingly, the Health Ministry said extensive testing around these known cases allowed officials to have greater confidence that there were no potential undetected links in the chain of transmission.

It came on the same day that the ministry admitted that it failed to warn the public about a Covid-positive person visiting a massage parlor in Auckland.

Visiting American actor Wade Williams told CNN that he was exposed to the infection while receiving a massage in Auckland. However, the room he visited was not published by health officials at the time.

The ministry said the locations where all contacts could be identified and contacted by the public health unit were generally not disclosed.

He said the sights were advertised as a public health precaution where there may be a series of casual contacts.

The ministry has not said how many companies have been visited by positive Covid cases and they have not been publicly disclosed.