Covid 19 coronavirus: Seven Covid cases in MIQ today as travel bubble re-opens with some Australian states

There are seven new Covid cases in managed isolation facilities to report today.

The new cases include travellers from Cambodia, Bahrain and India.

The total number of actives cases in this country is now 39, the Ministry of Health said in today’s update.

Meanwhile officials still can’t seem to get one contact of the Covid-infected Australian tourist who visited Wellington to have a coronavirus swab.

“Of those 2,726 total contacts, 2670 or 98% of people have returned an initial negative result, an increase of 21 negative test results since yesterday,” the ministry said.

“Thirty-three people have been granted a clinical exemption and 22 require no further action.”

The remaining person is being actively followed up by contact tracing teams, officials said today.

Today’s case numbers come as Australians from three states and the ACT are able to travel to New Zealand quarantine-free again, with the partial reopening of the travel bubble.

As of this morning, those in Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania and ACT can travel here freely, with evidence of a negative pre-departure test within 72 hours of boarding.

There were also seven new cases reported in managed isolation yesterday.

Of the returnees to test positive for Covid, six are in managed isolation and quarantine facilities in Auckland.

The seventh person, who arrived on a flight from South Africa via Singapore, is in a Christchurch MIQ hotel.

Four of the returnees travelled from Singapore while the others arrived on a flight from India – via Qatar – on June 29 and United Arab Emirates – via Malaysia – on July 2, respectively.

The Ministry of Health also reported that four people who had previously come down with Covid-19 had since recovered.

Two previously reported cases that were reclassified as being “under investigation” have since been confirmed to be historical cases.

Since January 1, 80 historical cases out of a 579 cases have been reported.

The number of active cases in New Zealand, as of yesterday, stands at 32. The seven-day rolling average of new cases found at the border is three.

Six contacts of Covid-infected man who visited Wellington still being sought

Meanwhile, contact tracing teams continue to hunt six people identified as contacts of an Australian man who visited Wellington between June 19 and June 21 before testing positive for Covid when he returned to Sydney.

The man was later confirmed to be linked to the Bondi Covid cluster and had the highly contagious Delta variant. His partner also tested positive for the same strain later on.

 

 

The ongoing advice for anyone who lives in Wellington or was in the region between Saturday, June 19 and Monday, June 21, is to check the locations of interest page to see if they visited any of the places the Sydney travelled went to.

“People who have been at these locations of interest at the specified time should immediately isolate at their home or accommodation and call Healthline on 0800 358 5453 for advice on testing.”

For people now able to fly to New Zealand from Australia, a negative pre-departure Covid test within 72 hours of departure is required for all passengers boarding flights to come here.