Covid 19 coronavirus: 4 cases in managed isolation; 1 historical case probed

There are four new Covid-19 cases in managed isolation and a historical case being investigated.

The Ministry of Health said it had been investigating the historical case since this morning after the person returned a "weak positive result".

This individual is a recent returnee from the United States and completed their full 14 days in a managed isolation (MIQ) facility in September.

"They were asymptomatic during their time in MIQ and returned two negative tests during this time. They were released from MIQ on September 21," the ministry initially said.

"After becoming unwell this week, they sought medical care. They were subsequently tested for Covid-19, which has returned a weak positive result, indicating an old infection. We have undertaken further testing today to fully confirm this is a historic infection," the ministry said.

"We are taking precautionary measures as we always do in these instances and the individual has been transferred to an MIQ facility in Wellington. As we have seen with other cases, individuals can return weak positive tests if they have been infected earlier in the year. This case follows a typical pattern of what we have seen in other historical cases.
These cases can emerge after the person has a respiratory illness that is not Covid-19 such as a cold or influenza," the ministry said.

The ministry later said the test result had been confirmed as being a historical infection and the person was therefore no risk to the public.

Today's imported cases

The first imported case arrived from the Philippines via Hong Kong on October 3 and was taken to a managed isolation facility in Auckland.

They tested positive as part of routine day 12 testing and have been transferred to the Auckland quarantine facility.

The second imported case arrived from Peru via Mexico and the USA on October 10 and was taken to a managed isolation facility in Christchurch. They tested positive as part of routine day 3 testing.

The third and fourth imported cases both arrived from Hong Kong on October 11 and were taken to a managed isolation facility in Auckland. They tested positive as part of routine day 3 testing and have been transferred to the Auckland quarantine facility.

There were no new cases in the community yesterday, however, there were two cases which tested positive in managed isolation.

It comes as new Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment data shows just 48 individuals or families have paid for the managed isolation and quarantine stays.

More than $150,000 has been repaid by the recent returnees as of October 4, all of whom have paid before the 90-day deadline from receiving their invoice.

A total of 826 invoices had been issued by the same date, as well as an additional 609 waivers since the charges were introduced on August 11.

The charge for a single person in a room is $3100. Additional adults or children sharing the room are charged $950 and $475 respectively, including GST.

There were four cases in managed isolation yesterday, and three today. Photo / File

Meanwhile, there's excitement at Auckland Airport as people got their first chance for quarantine-free travel to Australia since the outbreak of Covid 19 in March.

From today, New South Wales and the Northern Territory are allowing New Zealanders in without needing to quarantine but those returning will still need to go through quarantine.

Nearly all of those booked on the first flight due to leave mid-morning have one-way tickets. Around 200 people were expected to board this morning.

Elsewhere, there are fears Europe is running out of time to control a resurgence of the coronavirus.

Infections are hitting record daily highs in Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic, and Italy.

France slapped a 9pm curfew on many of its biggest cities and Londoners faced new travel restrictions as governments imposed increasingly tough measures.

Newly confirmed cases have surged across Europe over recent weeks as the fall kicks in, prompting authorities to bring back measures that had been relaxed over the summer.

Yesterday's cases

The first imported case arrived on October 9 from India via Dubai and was taken to a managed isolation facility in Hamilton. They tested positive as part of routine day-three testing and have been transferred to the Auckland quarantine facility.

The second imported case arrived on October 12 from San Francisco, USA, and was taken to a managed isolation facility in Christchurch. They were tested after displaying symptoms of Covid-19

Returnees slam 'unacceptable' waste from isolation meals

People in managed isolation fear they're choking the country's landfills with an estimated 100,000 takeaway containers, bottles and cutlery sets every week.

No rubbish is being recycled from rooms in the country's 32 border hotels, to reduce the handling of waste and potential spread of Covid-19.

With an average of around 5000 people in managed isolation each day that's roughly 100,000 meals' worth of waste dumped in landfills each week.

More than 60,000 people have passed through managed isolation and quarantine hotels since March 26, which would add up to an estimated 2.5 million meals' worth of waste altogether.

Pandemic claims Kiwi wine reviewer based in Switzerland

A New Zealand woman living and working in Switzerland for more than a decade has died of Covid-19.

Wine reviewer Nina Bobillier, who had part-Swiss and part-New Zealand heritage, succumbed in less than a fortnight to the deadly infection on Monday according to tributes posted online.

Her devastated family based in New Zealand have spoken of their shock and appreciation for the love and support pouring in from friends across the globe.

There would be a funeral in Switzerland and a celebration of her life in New Zealand in coming weeks.

- Additional reporting RNZ.