Person in Christchurch tests positive for Covid-19

A person in Christchurch is among the eight new cases of Covid-19 in New Zealand.

 

Christchurch's first confirmed case of coronavirus is a woman in her 40s, who arrived from London on Monday.

Four of the new cases are in Auckland, while one is in Christchurch, two in Waikato and another in Invercargill, Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield says

That brings the total to 20 since the start of the outbreak.

Details for each case will be on the Ministry of Health website, including flight information, once it becomes available.

"We expected more cases, and it's most important that we identify," and contact close contacts to prevent further spread, Bloomfield said.

The new cases reinforce the importance of border restrictions. All were from overseas travel.

"These restrictions are not retrospective but I urge others who have arrived earlier from overseas to voluntarily self-isolate," he said.

"Contact tracing will be underway on any relevant flights for those new cases." That covers two seats in all directions.

Healthline will also have the seat numbers and can advise anyone on the flight whether they are considered a close contact.

Healthline will also have the seat numbers and can advise anyone on the flight whether they are considered a close contact.

Regarding the closure of Logan Park High School in Dunedin, he said the school was working closely with public health officials.

It was initially closed for 48 hours but given there are around 150 close contacts who have self-isolated, and it is the first such case in a school, all 150 of those people will be tested.

Tests won't all be back until Friday, so the school will remain closed until after the weekend.

All close contacts will still need to self-isolate for 14 days because they may still be incubating the virus, he said.

Bloomfield said there were no other schools that might be involved, but there could be new information coming in on the eight new cases.

Police have been visiting a random sample of travellers to check they are self-isolating as required. About 50 people have been visited throughout the country.

Police made contact with 41 people yesterday, and another 3 are being followed up today as they could not be reached at the time. More visits will be conducted.

Bloomfield said authorities were pleased with the level of compliance and that the restrictions were being taken seriously.

The early start to the flu vaccine campaign was announced today. An extra 400,000 are available this year - a 30 per cent increase.

It's most important to protect people who could be hospitalised if they have the flu - that is people over 65 or those with preexisting conditions. They will be the ones prioritised over the next four weeks.

The flu vaccine does not help with Covid-19 but will help keep the strain off the health system.

The Ministry of Health is updating the media on the latest news regarding the coronavirus sweeping the globe.

Bloomfield is joined by the Ministry of Education's Secretary of Education Iona Holsted.

Yesterday four more cases were confirmed - a father and son in Wellington who had returned from the United States and a Dunedin man in his 40s who had travelled from Germany.

Last night his son also tested positive.

Logan Park High School in Dunedin is closed for 48 hours from today after the student at the school was confirmed to have the virus.

The school is currently being thoroughly cleaned.

Iona Holsted said the ministry is not currently planning for widespread school closures but is planning for temporary closures - like what's happened at Logan Park.

Children should continue to attend schools and ECEs, she said.

However schools and ECEs should continue to prepare for distance learning - not because of closures but because of self-isolations.

The MoE is not considering bringing forward the April school holidays, Holsted said.

On reports of a large party being held last night - despite Logan Park closing - she said closing schools did not stop people meeting. This showed children would not necessarily be safer if schools were closed.

Police's spot checks
Police have conducted spot checks on 50 tourists to confirm they are following self-isolation requirements.

"The visits, which commenced yesterday, involved police visually sighting the individuals and asking a series of questions relating to their wellbeing while self-isolating," police said in a statement today.

"Police has made contact with 41 individuals with another three people requiring a follow up today when they could not be reached. Outstanding visits are scheduled to be completed today with more visits to be conducted."
Police said they were pleased with the high level of compliance with "most people taking the isolation requirement seriously".

"Staff have been provided with advice about how to keep themselves safe while conducting these visits. This includes maintaining a safe distance, and carrying out standard risk assessment for each visit."