Covid 19 coronavirus: a new case, Black Friday shopper tracking app, mask warning

There is a new case of Covid-19 in isolation managed in New Zealand today, in addition to the six Pakistani cricketers announced last night.

Health officials just released today’s case numbers update, which included a request for shoppers rushing to Black Friday sales to scan stores using the NZ Covid Tracer app.

The only new case arrived in New Zealand today on November 23 and tested positive during routine tests on day three in controlled isolation.

It became known yesterday that six members of the Pakistan cricket team, who are in managed isolation in Christchurch prior to their New Zealand tour, tested positive for Covid-19 upon arrival in New Zealand. All six are now in quarantine.

The entire team receives a notice from the Government after the players received a final warning for violating the rules in Managed Isolation.

The Health Ministry said today that members of the Pakistan cricket team will undergo the third day testing today as scheduled.

Authorities would only grant the team an exemption to train while in Managed Isolation once the outcome of day three results is known.

A medical officer would also have to be convinced that team members were unlikely to transmit Covid.

Health teams were now interviewing close contacts of cricketers who tested positive. This included authorities contacting or being in the process of contacting the flight contacts of the players on the same flight.

“Anyone from the team identified as a close contact would not meet the requirements for the exemption as there is a risk that they could transmit Covid-19 to their teammates,” the Health Ministry said.

Members of the Pakistan team had previously met the “pre-departure requirements” necessary to travel to New Zealand, including multiple PCR tests and symptom checks.

However, the ministry said that exemptions allowing people to train while in managed isolation “are very difficult to obtain and any team that receives such an exemption is in a privileged position.”

“Several of the incidents reported yesterday that constituted a violation of managed isolation rules, included players leaving rooms without masks, mingling and chatting in hallways and passing items,” the ministry said.

The team stays in Christchurch’s managed isolation facility, the Chateau on the Park, but their isolation gaps did not affect other guests at the facility, the ministry said.

“Since a warning was issued to the team, compliance with MIQ rules at the facility has improved significantly,” the ministry said.

“We thank the team members for their cooperation with case investigations following the announcement of positive cases within the team.”

The six cases involving the Pakistani team and the seventh case reported today bring the number of active Covid cases in New Zealand to 66.

There have been 1,691 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in this country since the pandemic began.

More than 1.2 million tests have been performed, including 7454 yesterday.

Latest Infected Air NZ Crew Member

Meanwhile, the Auckland Regional Public Health Service is still working to identify “places of interest” linked to an Air NZ cabin crew member who captured Covid-19 while abroad.

The crew member tested positive in Shanghai on Sunday and tested another positive when he returned to New Zealand on Tuesday.

“Results from genome sequencing show that the lineage of this infection is not associated with any New Zealand cases that have been sequenced, indicating that international exposure is more likely,” the ministry said earlier in the week.

So far, 17 close contacts of the Air NZ staff member had been identified, 11 had returned a negative result and the remaining six results were pending, the ministry said.

The Ministry of Health has sent six push notifications through the NZ Covid Tracer app for locations of interest visited by the Air New Zealand worker.

At 10 a.m. today, 106 users of the application have received contact alerts through notifications.

Black Friday warning for buyers

The ministry also reminded shoppers rushing to search for Black Friday sales to scan stores using the NZ Covid Tracer app.

“Clients should also wear a mask in places where they cannot physically distance themselves from others, and wash and sanitize their hands regularly,” the ministry said.

“As always, if you are unwell, stay home and seek testing advice. You can still shop online while keeping your community safe.”

The NZ Covid Tracer app now has 2,384,300 registered users.

Poster scans have reached 127,285,389 and users have created 5,173,924 manual journal entries.

Disappointed sports minister

Earlier today, when asked if he was disappointed with the Pakistan cricket team, Sports Minister Grant Robertson said “of course”.

“The rules are very, very clear for anyone who is in managed isolation, but particularly for those who have the privilege of being able to train while in managed isolation.”

He said that he knew that the expectations had been reiterated to the team and hoped that they now understood the rules and fully abided by them.

The team was “on its last warning”.

Robertson said it was up to the Health Ministry what happened next.

But he said it showed that “the system is working” and that all violations occurred within the facility.

“No one tried to escape or anything like that. There is no danger to public health here.”

A guest staying at the same hotel said the players had violated social distancing rules despite safety warnings. There have also been problems with wearing masks and socializing in the hallways.

Meanwhile, Samoa has also reported in the last 24 hours a second positive case of Covid-19, a traveler from New Zealand.

The new case is a man in his 70s who arrived here on November 12, before flying to Samoa the next day.

The information has been released by Samoa’s chief health officer, Leausa Toleafoa Dr. Take Naseri, in an online press conference.

Naseri said the man was now isolated, as was his wife, who tested negative. The origin of the case is not yet known.

Meanwhile, this morning Chief Health Officer Dr. Ashley Bloomfield told RNZ that security footage showed that unauthorized gatherings involving Pakistani cricketers happened at least once.

Now all players and support staff had to stay in their rooms, as they should have from the beginning.

It was unclear if any of those mixed up had tested positive, Bloomfield said, adding that everyone on the team was being treated as if they had Covid-19.

I would decide if the squad would still have an exemption to train during administered isolation.

“I do not see well what we have already seen and we will take it very seriously.”