Covid 19 Coronavirus Update: The Latest on New Cases and Air NZ Crew Member Cases

Health authorities are scheduled to provide an update on the latest Covid-19 information at 1 pm

There were also three new cases of the virus in New Zealand yesterday, all in controlled isolation. There were no new community cases.

It was revealed yesterday that the Air New Zealand crew member who tested positive for the virus is likely to have contracted it in the United States.

And the rooms in managed isolation have been empty because some desperate returnees have been able to reserve more allocation vouchers than they need.

The government is not putting a limit on the number of spaces people can lock up, despite other New Zealanders saying they feel stranded and helpless abroad.

Elsewhere, Germany has been forced to step up its lockdown measures from Wednesday through Christmas until January 10.

Yesterday, the Health Ministry said that early genomic tests had not found any link between the positive case and the existing cases in New Zealand.

Comparison with international samples suggested it originated in the United States, they said.

The exact source of the positive case has yet to be confirmed and the ministry’s investigation is ongoing.

The crew member arrived in New Zealand on December 9 on a flight from the United States.

They tested positive as part of the mandatory tests within 48 hours of their return from the country.

While abroad, aircrews are legally required to wear protective equipment while in direct contact with passengers or if they are outside the aircraft or their accommodation.

They must travel directly to their accommodation and cannot leave except in an emergency.

The ministry said Air New Zealand had ensured that the person had met all requirements for the crew flying to and from the US, and the risk to the general public was considered low.

Germany goes into lockdown until Christmas

Germany is increasing its pandemic restrictions in an effort to reduce the stubbornly high rate of coronavirus infections.

Chancellor Angela Merkel said she and the governors of Germany’s 16 states agreed on Sunday to intensify the country’s lockdown measures from Wednesday to January 10 to halt the exponential increase in Covid-19 cases in the country.

“We are obliged to act and we are acting,” Merkel told reporters in Berlin, noting that existing restrictions imposed in November had failed to significantly reduce the number of new infections.

The seven-day moving average of daily new cases in Germany has increased in the last two weeks from 21.23 new cases per 100,000 people on November 28 to 26 new cases per 100,000 people on December 12.

Starting Wednesday, schools across the country will be closed or switch to homeschooling; most non-food stores will close, as will businesses such as hair salons that have so far been able to stay open. Take out food will be allowed in restaurants, but cannot be eaten or drunk on site.

Some accumulate managed isolation vouchers, leaving others desperate

The rooms in managed isolation have been empty because some desperate returnees have been able to reserve more allocation vouchers than they need.

The government is not putting a limit on the number of spaces people can lock up, despite other New Zealanders saying they feel stranded and helpless abroad.

It’s mandatory to reserve a room before flying into the country, and the only people who can get rooms before the end of February must meet strict emergency allocation criteria or take advantage of the very occasional canceled reservation by updating the website.

Immigration attorney Richard Small said the system had been invaded by “desperate people, who behave desperately and just record everything they can see coming up.”

“It’s a lottery. It becomes an accident of being online or having four or five other people taking the lists with you; that’s what we’ve heard too, people who have helpers constantly monitoring the website and taking everything. what falls outside. “

– AP and RNZ for additional reports