Covid 19 coronavirus: No new community cases, three in MIQ

Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins announces a pause on quarantine-free travel between New Zealand and New South Wales on Thursday evening. Video / Derek Cheng

There are no new community cases of Covid-19 today, but there are three in managed isolation.

The three new cases came from France, the Maldives and Guatemala, the Ministry of Health said.

Meanwhile, the Government will give an update this afternoon about whether transtasman flights between New Zealand and New South Wales will hit the skies again.

The health ministry said it would carry out a new risk assessment and update its position later today.

Flights to the Australian state had earlier been put on a 48-hour pause after two Covid community cases were identified in Sydney. That freeze is due to end at midnight tonight.

Imported cases of Covid-19 have slowed to a trickle recently and yesterday there was just one new infected person identified in New Zealand's managed isolation.

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They arrived from the United Arab Emirates on April 24 and tested positive on day 12 of their isolation stay, taking the total number of actives cases in New Zealand to 26.

Thousands of travellers, meanwhile, have been dealing with disrupted travel plans after the Government hit pause on flights to New South Wales on Thursday evening.

New Zealand has three new Covid cases today, all in MIQ, as the Government prepares to give an update on transtasman flights to New South Wales later this afternoon. Photo / Getty Images

Flights to other Australian destinations are still taking off as planned, however.

The two-day precautionary halt on travel to New South Wales was in response to two community cases in Sydney.

Director general of health Dr Ashley Bloomfield said the move to pause travel was so authorities could see what further results emerged.

Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said the risk was low, even though about 6000 people had flown into New Zealand from NSW since the Sydney cases emerged.

While the eastern state had not gone into lockdown, restrictions had been put in place, including compulsory masks in indoor venues and gatherings limited to 20 people.

Genome sequencing had linked the index case, a man in his 50s, to a traveller who arrived from the US and was moved to a quarantine facility on April 28.

But it remained unclear how the man caught the virus, meaning there could be several links in the chain of transmission between them and the traveller who might still be in the community without knowing they have the virus.

One of the man's household contacts, a woman in her 50s, also returned a positive test on Thursday.

Neither the man nor the woman had recently travelled overseas, worked in a hotel quarantine, border or health role, or came into contact with someone who did.

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