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There are two new cases of Covid-19 in managed isolation and none in the community, announced the Ministry of Health.
The two new cases arrived within the same travel bubble to Auckland on February 18 from the United Arab Emirates.
Aside from the seven previously reported community cases, all close contacts associated with the New Plymouth home, school and travel group of the current cases have tested negative for the virus.
Contact tracing has revealed 128 close contacts associated with all the cases in the group, 120 of which have yielded negative tests.
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MINISTRY OF HEALTH / Supplied
All 25 healthcare professionals vaccinated with New Zealand’s first batch of Pfizer / BioNTech Covid-19 vaccines began vaccinating internal workers on Saturday.
The eight people whose test results are pending include seven people who were at the medical center visited by one person with coronavirus, and the workplace contact of another.
As of 8 a.m. Saturday, 31 close contacts and 1,423 casual contacts have been tested plus the Papatoetoe High School cases (staff and students). So far, 1,396 have yielded negative results, 26 results are pending and one person has tested positive, the Ministry of Health previously reported.
“The number of casual contacts plus has decreased as these people were not in school at the time of the exposure,” the ministry said in a statement.
Papatoetoe High School is expected to open on Monday, however close contacts will not be able to return unless they have received approval from a public health advisor.
“We remind all students and school staff to stay home and take an exam if they haven’t already.”
The 444 employees in the “wider work environment” of LSG Sky Chef, an airline laundry and catering service where one of the three original community cases operates, have also been evaluated, with 387 negative results, including 9 contacts working with the positive case within the laundry department.
Ministry of Health
There were 1,847,877 NZ Covid Tracer app scans logged during a 24-hour period ending at 1pm on Friday.
Fifty-six results are yet to come. More than 10,000 Covid-19 tests were processed on Friday.
A person previously reported to have Covid-19 has recovered, leaving the total number of active cases at 51.
Samples taken from four Auckland sewage test sites on Thursday, including near Papatoetoe, and from sites in Christchurch and Hamilton, show no evidence of Covid-19.
About 1.84 million scans were recorded on the NZ Covid Tracer app for 24 hours until 1:00 p.m. Friday, and an average of about 1.4 scans performed each day this week.
“It is really encouraging to see that people continue to scan,” the Health Ministry statement continued.
“Please keep up the good work and continue to use the Covid Tracer app to keep track of where you have been.”
Abigail Dougherty / Stuff
As of 8 a.m. Saturday, 31 close contacts and 1,423 plus casual contacts have been identified at Papatoetoe High School.
On Friday, the Ministry of Health announced that there was a new community case of Covid-19 linked to the family of three who were confirmed to have the virus last Sunday.
The mother works at LSG Sky Chefs, an airline laundry and catering service. Her main duties are in the laundry department, but she is also involved in packing and preparing meals.
Since those first cases Sunday, a close contact and three members of his household have also tested positive.
Friday’s community case had originally returned a negative test result and had been isolating himself at home. They are now being transferred to the isolation facilities of the Jet Park Hotel.
One more member of the same household tested negative, but was also being transferred to Jet Park.
RICKY WILSON / Stuff
Workers at the Jet Park Hotel quarantine facilities will be vaccinated on Saturday.
Investigations continue into the second group of household cases, and there is the potential for an increase in the number of locations of interest and closer and more casual contacts.
The ministry said an investigation into the source of the outbreak is continuing.
Twenty-five healthcare professionals were the first in the country to receive the Pfizer / BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine on Friday, marking the “beginning of the end of the pandemic in New Zealand.” They also practiced administering the vaccine.
These health professionals will be at the forefront of the vaccination rollout and began vaccinating border workers on Saturday.
The vaccination program will be implemented in Wellington on Monday and Christchurch on Wednesday.
