Coronavirus Covid-19: second day without new cases

Yesterday marked two days in a row with no new Covid cases, but health authorities are urging people to remain vigilant as restrictions are relaxed.

It comes as Auckland falls to alert level 2 as of midnight tonight, with meetings now limited to 100 people, for the next two weeks.

But Auckland residents are asked to take the Level 2 restrictions with them if they leave the city.

The rest of the country has been at alert level 1 since Tuesday morning.

The Health Ministry is still working to find out if a person previously had Covid-19, or not, after a “weakly positive” case returned a negative result on Tuesday morning.

The person is a close contact of a returnee from India who tested negative twice in controlled isolation, but then tested positive after returning home to Auckland.

Chief Health Officer Dr. Ashley Bloomfield says 29 close contacts of the returnee have been tested on a charter flight from Christchurch.

One of those people tested positive, but it was believed to be an old infection.

That person, who has had no symptoms of Covid-19 since arriving in New Zealand, was retested and tested negative Tuesday morning. Serological tests were also being carried out.

The Ministry of Health was investigating the case to confirm that it was a historical infection and whether it had already been reported as a case in India.

“In the meantime, a precautionary approach is being taken and the person has been transferred to the Auckland quarantine facility,” the Ministry said in a statement.

“The remaining people on the flight are in the process of being contacted and will be evaluated as appropriate.”

Bloomfield said that the test results came in from time to time and that they were historical cases of Covid-19.

In these cases, the test result is positive but with a high “cycle threshold” or CT value, and is considered a “weak positive”.

The research showed that these people were not infectious and were not at risk of transmitting the virus to others, Bloomfield said.

Three people with Covid-19 remain in the hospital: one in Auckland City, Middlemore and North Shore hospitals. The three patients are isolated in a general ward.

The total number of active cases is now 61; of these, 29 are imported cases at MIQ facilities and 32 are community cases.

Health authorities have identified 4,003 close contacts in the Auckland group, of whom 11 have yet to be contacted.

“The risk from Covid-19, while small, remains,” Bloomfield said yesterday.

People with Covid-19 symptoms would remain the priority for testing, but workers who come in contact with Auckland residents traveling the country, including hospitality and tourism staff, will also be screened, even if they don’t have symptoms.

Mobile testing sites will be available to increase testing as school holidays begin on Friday, Bloomfield said.

He urged people to remain vigilant for symptoms of the virus and continue to wear masks on public transport at level 1.