Another death, two new Covid-19 cases

Two new cases of Covid-19 and a death have been reported, after two days of no new infections.

The latest fatality, of a Rosewood Rest Home resident in Christchurch, brings the country’s death toll to 21, directorgeneral of health Dr Ashley Bloomfield confirmed yesterday.

The woman in her 60s, who had underlying health conditions, was considered a probable case of Covid-19 due to her symptoms and exposure history.

She was a ‘‘much-loved member of the Rosewood family’’ and had been a resident since 2011, Bloomfield said.

The two new cases – one probable, one confirmed – bring the country’s total to 1488.

The confirmed case is a Marist College student who delivered ‘‘a weak positive test’’, and has been in lockdown.

‘‘They had been contacted by Healthline in the first week of April as part of the contract tracing and was not unwell at that time, so did not progress to testing at this stage,’’ Bloomfield said. ‘‘The significance of a weak positive test so late in the illness – when the symptoms the student reported were actually some weeks ago – is not fully understood and it’s likely the person is not infectious at this stage.’’

A precautionary approach was being taken, and the student would remain in isolation before being re-tested in a week.

About 250 Marist College staff and students have been tested as part of broader checks linked to the cluster.

Yesterday’s other case was linked to the CHT St Margaret’s Rest Home cluster in west Auckland, and was a household contact of a confirmed case.

Almost 90 per cent of the country’s Covid-19 cases have recovered, while two people were being treated for Covid-19 – in

Auckland hospitals – but neither was in intensive care.

‘‘Our low numbers of Covid-19 cases continues to be encouraging but we are by no means out of the woods. We need everyone to stick to the plan and continue to follow the rules around alert level three,’’ Bloomfield said.

‘‘Not doing so does risk undoing all the good work we have achieved so far. We have seen how quickly this virus can spread both here and in other countries, so do not give it an inch.’’

On border restriction applications, he said more than half had been reviewed by the end of Tuesday and expected all reviews to be completed by yesterday.

When asked whether New Zealand was more keen on establishing a trans-Tasman travel bubble than Australia, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said she was on the same page as her Australian counterpart, Scott Morrison.

The fact Morrison did not mention the concept until 20 minutes into his post-Cabinet press conference on Tuesday was not indicative of the importance he placed upon it, Ardern said.

Responding to questions about contract tracing technology and apps, Ardern said the Government was considering a range of options. These included looking at mobile phone technology, QR codes or a ‘‘Covid Card’’.

More details would be given today on what life at alert level two would be like, Ardern said. ‘‘We will be using the most up-todate information available.’’

‘‘Not [following the rules around alert level 3] does risk undoing all the good work we have achieved so far.’’

Dr Ashley Bloomfield