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There is a new Covid-19 case linked to the AUT student who tested positive – a close contact previously reported as a weak positive case.
On Thursday, an AUT University student, who lives and works in the CBD, tested positive for the virus. Since then, she has been genomically linked to a Defense Forces worker.
A close contact of the student returned a weak positive test on Saturday and is already in the Auckland quarantine facility.
On Sunday, the Health Ministry said the person was now a confirmed case and also lived at Vincent Residences in the central city where the student lived.
READ MORE:
* Covid-19: There are no new cases in the community, but neighbor under investigation.
* Covid-19: New community case ‘directly’ genomically linked to the Defense Force worker
* Covid-19: the confirmed case was on the AUT University campus while it was infectious
* Covid-19 – All locations linked to Auckland’s most recent community case
* Covid-19: new community case in Auckland without a clear link to the border
The individual initially yielded a negative test result, however a third test taken on Saturday was confirmed positive.
“The results of these tests indicate that this new case is a very recent infection,” the Ministry said.
LAWRENCE SMITH / Things
There was an increase in testing on Friday and Saturday as a result of the latest case in the community.
Auckland Regional Public Health has identified seven close contacts and three casual contacts who have been contacted. Testing was expected to be completed on Sunday.
No places of interest have been identified to date for the latter case, the ministry said.
Two new cases were also reported at the border, one person testing positive on Sunday after arriving from the UK on November 10, via Qatar and Australia.
The second case came from Dubai, also on November 10. Both have been transferred to the Auckland quranatin facility.
With Sunday’s three new cases, New Zealand now has 2001 confirmed and probable coronavirus cases.
Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins confirmed Friday afternoon that genome testing had directly linked the student’s case to a Defense Forces worker who spent time in places close to where she worked.
Abigail Dougherty / Stuff
A neighbor of the AUT student has tested positive. Public health officials are treated in the apartment where the two positive cases live.
On Saturday, the increased demand for community testing in Auckland continued with labs testing 10,525 tests.
The Ministry has asked anyone found in Auckland CBD at sights to get tested regardless of symptoms.
“This is an improved surveillance tactic to ensure that we do not miss any cases that may be asymptomatic.”
The Health Ministry also recommended anyone in New Zealand with cold or flu symptoms to get tested and stay home until they receive a negative result.
More information about the locations can be found on the ARPHS website and may change, the ministry said.
The total number of active cases is now 58 and more than 1.1 million scans of the NZ COVID Tracer app were performed on Saturday.
“It is encouraging to see that many New Zealanders are answering the call to get used to scanning QR codes again,” the Ministry said.
“The faster we can get in touch with the trace, the faster we can stay ahead of the virus and prevent spread in the community.”
On Friday, Hipkins said he would bring a public health order to Cabinet on Monday requesting that face coverings be mandatory on Auckland’s public transport, including domestic flights across the country.
Thursday’s announcement prompted public health personnel to open more testing centers and because they had visited various locations in Auckland’s CBD while they were potentially infectious, some visitors were warned to get tested regardless of whether they had any symptoms. .
The alert level in Auckland and the rest of the country will remain at level 1, he said.
