No new Covid-19 community cases today, Bloomfield announces after last night's border worker infection

April 12, 2021

Ashley Bloomfield provided the update after one further border worker was revealed as testing positive yesterday.

Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield has confirmed seven new Covid-19 cases at the border today.

Meanwhile, there are no new community cases of the virus in New Zealand.

Of today's new cases, three of the seven are close contacts of existing cases.

Six of today's new cases arrived from India via the United Arab Emirates between April 3 and April 10. Two tested on day seven, one on day three and three on arrival in Auckland.

The other new border case today arrived from the US on April 8 and tested positive on arrival in Auckland.

There was also one new historical infection reported today — a person who arrived from the UK on November 21.

"The individual had contact with a confirmed case in the UK and was tested here in NZ due to flu-like symptoms," the Ministry of Health said in a statement."

Bloomfield was joined by head of managed isolation and quarantine Brigadier Jim Bliss for today's update.

The update comes after a close contact of last week’s Covid-19 community case, who also worked at the Grand Millennium managed isolation facility in Auckland, was confirmed with the virus yesterday evening.

The person had returned an earlier negative test before testing positive yesterday.

Neither of the two cases, known as cases B and C, were vaccinated for Covid-19, despite border worker vaccinations using the Pfizer jab rolling out since February.

However, Bloomfield said there was no indication they had been hesitant to get the shot.

Both cases B and C, plus a partner of one of the cases, are in Auckland's quarantine facility. The partner has so far tested negative for the illness.

Bloomfield also said today genome sequencing for Case C had clear links to Case B and case A - a cleaner who tested positive on March 21.

The Ministry of Health said that because Case C had been self-isolating at home since being identified as a close contact late last week, there is considered to be very little additional risk to the community.

However, new locations of interest are appearing on the Ministry of Health's website for Case B.

Seventeen previously reported cases have since recovered, bringing New Zealand's total active cases to 100. The total number of confirmed cases since the pandemic began is 2227.

Yesterday, 2738 tests for Covid-19 were processed in New Zealand. Since the pandemic began, more than 1.94 million tests have been carried out.

A pop-up testing centre will be available at the Mt Roskill War Memorial at 15 May Road in Auckland from 10am tomorrow until Thursday.

The Covid Tracer app now has more than 2.77 million registered users.

"It's critical to keep track of where you've been and the Covid Tracer app is an easy way to do this. Please continue to scan QR codes wherever you go and turn on Bluetooth tracing in the app dashboard if you haven't already done so," the Ministry of Health advised.

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