No new cases among fishermen

DAY six testing of Russian and Ukrainian fishermen in quarantine in a Christchurch hotel has now ended, and no new cases of Covid19 were detected yesterday.

Day six testing was introduced for the fishermen, after an outbreak of the disease in their ranks earlier this week. They had been brought to New Zealand on a charter flight paid for by three major fishing companies.

Five new day six cases were found on Saturday, which took the total of cases in that outbreak to 28.

‘‘We have always expected that additional cases from this group were likely,’’ a Ministry of Health spokesman said.

By yesterday, all the workers had received a day six test, a requirement introduced for these international fishing crew members after the outbreak in the managed isolation facility in the Sudima hotel in Christchurch.

They will be tested again on day 12 of their time in managed isolation, and authorities have already said noone would be allowed to leave the Sudima unless health workers were positive they were free of Covid19.

Just one new case was reported in New Zealand yesterday, a managed isolation case which had previously been under investigation.

That case was confirmed, as was the fact the patient had recovered.

No new community cases were reported, heartening news after the discovery of a community transmission case involving a marine worker who likely caught the disease while aboard a visiting ship.

With reports Covid19 positive people had attended an Auckland bar and a gymnasium before their diagnosis, extra testing facilities were opened across the city for the weekend.

On Saturday, labs processed more than 5300 Covid19 tests, a high number for the weekend.

‘‘We would like to extend our thanks to primary care teams, the laboratory staff, public health teams, hospital staff and the other health professionals who are working during this long weekend to support our pandemic response,’’ the ministry spokesman said.

Testing remains available in the Southern District Health Board region despite the holiday weekend, through after hours medical facilities.

Yesterday, New Zealand had 70 active cases of Covid19.