Covid 19 coronavirus: 3 new cases in managed isolation

There are three new cases of Covid-19 today in managed isolation.

There are no new cases in the community.

The first case reported today arrived from India on September 26 and was retested after returning a negative result at their routine test around day 3 of their time in managed isolation because they were a contact of a previously reported case.

The second case reported today arrived on October 2 from England via Qatar and Australia and was tested after they developed symptoms.

The third case reported today arrived on October 4 from India via England and Qatar and was tested on arrival because they developed symptoms on the flight.

The total number of cases in New Zealand since the pandemic began has reached 1502.

New Zealand has 43 active Covid cases.

Of these active cases, 37 are imported cases, and six are community cases.

There is one person on a ward in Middlemore hospital with Covid today.

Auckland's alert level move

Auckland moves to alert level 1 tomorrow night but some experts say it's too soon to relax all restrictions and fear Kiwis' Covid-19 complacency risks infection spreading rapidly if another outbreak hits the community.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, too, warned Aucklanders against complacency, pleading for people to scan QR codes with their smartphones, stay home if they're unwell, and get tested if feeling even slightly sick.

Yesterday, there was one new case of Covid-19, but it was contained in managed isolation.

Ardern said yesterday she did not consider calling a Cabinet meeting on Friday to discuss moving Auckland to level 1 sooner than Wednesday because Cabinet had previously agreed for the city to be in alert level 2 for two weeks — or one full incubation period.

She said Cabinet also wanted to look at the latest test results from the more recent cases associated with a chartered flight from Christchurch to Auckland on September 11; the last such case tested positive on September 23.

She said there was a high level of confidence that those cases, as well as the 179-case cluster, were both contained, confirming modelling by Te Pūnaha Matahini that there was a 95 per cent likelihood Covid-19 had been eliminated.

There had been no new cases in the cluster for 12 days, and only six community cases are still to recover.

Dr Andrew Chen, a research fellow at Koi Tū: The Centre for Informed Futures, the University of Auckland, has been observing that trend with worry.

"As Auckland enters level 1, we may see increased levels of mobility and will see the return of larger group gatherings.

"If Covid-19 returns to the community, these both increase the risk of the infection spreading quickly and in ways that may be difficult to predict."

Chen said all Kiwis had a role to play in protecting themselves and others — and one of the most important steps they could take was keeping track of their movements.

"We can't just start keeping records at the beginning of the next outbreak — we need records before it arrives.

"Using the NZ Covid Tracer app is one of the most effective ways to keep track of your records."