Seven cases in MIQs

There are seven new cases of Covid-19 to report in New Zealand.

The Ministry of Health said yesterday that all the cases were in managed isolation and had been detected over the two previous days. There were no cases in the community.

Yesterday’s update will be the last until after Christmas, with the next one scheduled for Sunday.

The ministry said one of the seven cases had been found to be historical, so would not be included in the total number of active cases.

They arrived in New Zealand last Monday, from the United States, and tested positive during routine testing around day three. They were transferred to a quarantine facility in Christchurch.

Three more of yesterday’s cases had also travelled from the US. One tested positive during routine testing around day three and was transferred to a quarantine facility in Christchurch, after arriving last Tuesday.

Two others had arrived last Thursday, and tested positive around day three of their stays in managed isolation. They had also been transferred to a Christchurch quarantine facility.

The other cases included a person who arrived in New Zealand on December 13. They had travelled from South Africa via the United Arab Emirates, and tested positive after the onset of symptoms. They were transferred to Auckland’s Jet Park quarantine facility.

Another case arrived on December 15 from the Czech Republic via the UAE. They tested positive following the onset of symptoms around day six of their stay in managed isolation. This case was also transferred to Jet Park.

Yesterday’s final case arrived from the United Kingdom via Qatar on December 17.