More Covid-19 cases in New Zealand, all are imported cases
4251 Min Read
There are three new cases of Covid-19 in New Zealand; all returning travellers who were diagnosed during routine testing of travelers.
These are the latest in a slow trickle of cases arriving into the previously Covid-free country as New Zealanders return from other coronavirus hotspots abroad.
There are 13 active cases in the country, all returning travellers. Two women arriving from Britain who were mistakenly allowed out of quarantine for returning travellers without being tested have now recovered from the virus.
“There is no community transmission,” said Ashley Bloomfield, New Zealand’s top health official, who is speaking to reporters in Wellington.
Officials are attempting to prove this through testing: 10,436 Covid-19 tests were taken in the country of 5m people on Wednesday alone, Bloomfield said. That was the most tests taken in one day in New Zealand since the start of the pandemic.
Only New Zealanders, their families, and essential workers may enter the country; they must spend two weeks in government-run quarantine and are tested twice.
New Zealand has recorded confirmed 1,169 cases of Covid-19 and 22 deaths, widely attributed to a swift, early lockdown of the country, which has now lifted except for border control measures.
