Covid 19 coronavirus: One new case today in managed isolation

There is one new case of Covid-19 in managed isolation in New Zealand today and no new cases in the community.

The case tested positive in managed isolation around day three of their stay.

The Ministry of Health said in a statement the positive case arrived in New Zealand from France via Singapore on September 25.

They have since been transferred to the Auckland quarantine facility. There are 17 people total isolating at the facility from the community, including nine who have tested positive for the virus and their household contacts.

One person with the virus is in isolation on a general ward at Middlemore Hospital.

Since August 11, our contact tracing team has identified 4073 close contacts of cases, of which 4073 have been contacted and are self-isolating or have completed self-isolation, the ministry said.

"This number has dropped since yesterday due to records being identified as duplicates in the system.

"Twelve previously reported cases are now considered to have recovered, bringing our total number of active cases to 44.

"Of those, 30 are imported cases in MIQ facilities, and 14 are community cases."

The total number of confirmed cases of the virus is 1480, which is the number reported to the World Health Organisation.

Yesterday, laboratories processed 4969 virus tests, bring in the total number of completed tests to 960,559.

Elsewhere, there are now 2,285,600 users registered on the NZ Covid Tracer app.

The app has recorded a total of 79,195,293 poster scans, and users have created 3,443,349 manual diary entries into it.

The ministry said the way people prevent the spread of Covid-19 can work with many other infectious diseases.

"While the spread of Covid-19 is slowing, we can all look after ourselves and our communities by washing our hands, cleaning high-touch surfaces, and practising good cough and sneeze etiquette," they said.

"If you are unwell, you should avoid contact with other people and seek advice from your healthcare provider or Healthline."

Yesterday, people away during the school holidays were urged to call Healthline, their GP or practice nurse if they became unwell to see if they needed a test.

If you're told to get a test, do not wait until you get home to get tested, the ministry said.

There were two new cases in New Zealand yesterday, both detected in a managed isolation facility.

And New Zealand's only remaining cluster looks to have been stamped out after having just one new case linked to it in two weeks.

Alert level 1 also beckons for Auckland, with Cabinet set to review the City of Sails' restrictions on Monday.

Both of yesterday's cases arrived on the same flight from the United Arab Emirates on September 23 but started in different locations.

One arrived in a flight from Ukraine and the other from Pakistan, the Ministry of Health said in a statement yesterday.

"They were on the same flight but not travelling together," the ministry said.

"Both individuals tested positive as a result of tests done around day three and have been transferred to the Auckland quarantine facility."

There were two new cases of the virus yesterday, both of whom were in managed isolation. Photo / Dean Purcell

There were no new cases in the community.

There were 18 people isolating in the Auckland quarantine facility from the community, which includes 9 people who have tested positive for Covid-19 and their household contacts.

One person was in hospital with Covid-19. The patient was in isolation on a general ward at Middlemore Hospital in Auckland.

New Zealand's last remaining cluster

Health and data researchers say we're looking good for a move down alert levels, but level 1 should come with strings attached.

In the past two weeks there have been eight community cases and none in any of the past four days.

Public health professor Nick Wilson said the drop in cases was a success story for health authorities and the New Zealand public.

"The situation is looking very good for Auckland. It's looking like there'll be downward adjustments to alert levels when they're next reviewed.

"We really are heading strongly back to the whole country being Covid-free."

The main Auckland cluster, with 179 cases, was easily the biggest the country's faced, almost twice as big as any other.

Young job seekers hardest hit by virus

Young job seekers have been hit hard by Covid-19, with a rise of more than 80 per cent in the number of 18-24-year-olds on the Job Seeker Allowance.

Recent data from the Ministry of Social Development shows the number of 18-19-year-olds on the Job Seeker Work Ready allowance went from 5970 in August 2019 to 11,105 in August 2020. That's an increase of 5135 young people on the benefit - or a rise of 86 per cent.

The number of 20-24-year-olds on the same allowance went from 14,220 in August 2019 to 26,268 in August 2020. That's 12,048 more people on the allowance or an increase of 84 per cent.

In comparison, people seeking Job Seeker assistance in the 40-44-year-old age group went from 6774 in August 2019 to 9949 in August 2020 - an increase of just more than 46 per cent.

To get Jobseeker support, young people needed to be either unemployed and looking for work or in part-time employment and seeking more work.

- Additional reporting RNZ