Nine new cases from around the world in isolation

AUCKLAND: There were nine new cases of Covid19 in New Zealand yesterday, all in managed isolation, as New Zealanders return home before Christmas.

There were no new community cases yesterday, the Ministry of Health reported in a statement.

There are 50 active cases in New Zealand.

A total of 6504 tests were conducted on Saturday.

Yesterday’s cases among recent returnees are from eight countries, which the ministry said was a sign of how the pandemic continued to ravage parts of the world.

‘‘Mandatory isolation and testing will continue to be of critical importance as high numbers of

New Zealanders return home before the holiday period,’’ the ministry said.

The nine new cases were. —

One person arrived from France on November 17, tested positive around day three and is now in the Auckland quarantine facility.

One person arrived from the Netherlands on November 17, tested positive around day three and is now in the Auckland quarantine facility.

One person arrived from Dubai on November 17, tested positive around day three and is now in the Auckland quarantine facility.

One person arrived from the United States on November 19, tested positive around day three and is now in quarantine in Christchurch.

One person arrived from the United Kingdom on November 14, tested positive after routine surveillance around day seven and is now in the Auckland quarantine facility.

Two people, travelling separately, arrived on the same flight from Bangladesh on November 10 and tested positive around day 12. They are now in the Auckland quarantine facility.

One person arrived from

Spain on November 16, tested positive around day three and is now in the Auckland quarantine facility.

One person arrived from Italy on November 16, tested positive around day three and is now in quarantine in Christchurch.

On Saturday a new case emerged from the Defence Force cluster, bringing the total in the cluster to six cases.

The new case is a close contact of the civilian worker who tested positive this month.

The ministry said the latest case in the cluster — the sixth case so far, or Case F — had been genome sequenced, confirming a direct link to the cluster.

Case F has been in isolation since November 7 and is a close contact of Case B, a Defence

Force civilian worker who caught Covid19 from a Defence Force serviceman working at the Jet Park quarantine facility in Auckland.

The person is a border worker who has been in managed isolation for the past 10 days as a precaution, and was isolating at home before that.

They had tested negative after five days in isolation, and were retested around day 12. A positive test was reported yesterday.

The ministry encouraged anyone who visited a location of interest during the relevant time period for the Defence Force cluster to get tested.

Five other new cases were reported on Saturday but they were all imported cases in managed isolation or quarantine. — The New Zealand Herald