No community cases; 10 new cases of COVID-19 in managed isolation in two days, two historical cases and an update on the Playa Zahara

Source: New Zealand Ministry of Health

There are no cases of COVID-19 to report in the community in New Zealand today.

There are 10 cases of COVID-19 to report in recent returnees in managed isolation facilities since the Ministry’s last update on Friday. This includes three of the four Viking Bay mariners who remain aboard the ship which is quarantined at Queens Wharf in Wellington. Welfare and health checks are being carried out daily, and plans are in place should any of them become unwell. 

There are a further two cases to report which are deemed historical and not considered infectious. A further case from India reported on Friday as historical has now been reclassified as under investigation and has been removed from New Zealand’s tally at this stage. 

Fourteen previously reported case have now recovered. 

The number of active cases in New Zealand is 45.

Since 1 January 2021, there have been 99 historical cases, out of a total of 641 cases. 

The seven-day rolling average of new cases detected at the border is seven.     

Our total number of confirmed cases is 2,458.

Playa Zahara Update

The fishing ship Playa Zahara arrived into Lyttelton Port this morning and is now secured at a quarantine berth within the port exclusion zone. This means it is in an area that is not accessible by the public. 

A comprehensive safety plan has been developed and the risk to port workers and the public is deemed low. 

Testing carried out at Port Taranaki on 13 July found 16 of the 18 crew members positive for COVID-19. All crew members will be retested today. 

In accordance with the plan developed by Canterbury DHB’s public health team and the Government cross agency team, five of the crew members will isolate aboard the fishing vessel and the remainder will be transported to managed isolation and quarantine facilities in Christchurch. 

Welfare and health checks will be conducted on the crew remaining aboard the vessel and plans are in place should any of them become unwell. Customs will maintain a presence at the port throughout the operation. 

Update on the situation in Victoria

New Zealand public health officials are closely monitoring the situation in Victoria where there has been a growing number of COVID-19 cases. 

Anyone who was in Victoria since 8 July is encouraged to keep checking the Victoria Health website for locations of interest which continue to be announced. 

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

New border cases in New Zealand

Historical cases

* As this case was reported last year, it doesn’t appear in total reported figures since January. 

Testing 

The total number of COVID-19 tests processed by laboratories to date is 2,397,849.

On Saturday, 4,436 tests were processed across New Zealand.

The seven-day rolling average is 6,692.

For all testing locations nationwide visit the Healthpoint website. 

NZ COVID Tracer

NZ COVID Tracer now has 2,899,806 registered users.

Poster scans have reached 307,515,212 and users have created 11,995,246 manual diary entries.

There have been 623,035 scans in the last 24 hours to midday yesterday.

MIL OSI