New Zealand has its eighth confirmed case of coronavirus, the Ministry of Health says.
The eighth case a woman in her 30s from Denmark travelling in New Zealand, the Director General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield said.
The woman arrived in Auckland via Doha on flight QR920 on March 10, and then flew to Christchurch on Jetstar flight JQ225. She then travelled to Queenstown by rental car, the Ministry of Health said.
She was unwell and hospitalised for one night.
The woman, who was recovering well, was being discharged, the ministry said. She would recover in self isolation and will be monitored daily by health services.
A man in 60s from Australia was the seventh case, Bloomfield said.
He arrived on Air New Zealand flight NZ828 from Brisbane in Wellington on March 14.
The man was now symptom free, the Ministry of Health said, and was now in self isolation with his partner and another family member. He did not require hospital care or other medical treatment.
Three passengers on Golden Princess being tested for coronavirus, Bloomfield said. One has developed symptoms and was being treated as a suspected case.
"Everybody has a significant role to play in keeping Covid-19 out," Bloomfield said.
Canterbury DHB Chief Medical Officer Dr Sue Nightingale said planning for coronavirus began in January.
The DHB was working with GPs, and the first community-based assessment centre would be ready on Wednesday
Nightingale said Canterbury Health Laboratories was looking to ramp up testing.
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Bloomfield said Healthline had been very busy, and was dealing with triple the amount of calls as the same time last year.
The ministry had changed its definition of close contact in line with other countries to be within two metres for 15 minutes, up from one, he said.
Bloomfield said New Zealand had good testing capacity, but doctors would only be testing people who had symptoms, not those who did not.
He said he was disappointed someone who was waiting for test results travelled to New Zealand.
CRUISE SHIP LESSONS
Bloomfield said there were lessons to be learned from the US and Japanese cruise ship situations.
One of the things that was important, he said, was not leaving everyone onboard.
HEALTH STAFF AT AIRPORTS
The Health Ministry would increase staff at airports so public health officials met everyone coming in.
Staff would question people about potential exposure/symptoms and provide advice.
They would inform people about the requirements for self-isolation. There would be further work done on ensuring travellers self-isolated.
Cabinet will meet tomorrow to consider advice around mass gatherings.
New Zealand had taken a different approach to the UK, and was taking steps more in line with Singapore and Taiwan, Bloomfield said.
It was about extending and flattening out the infection cases graph curve to allow the health system to deal with cases in New Zealand.
A woman in Queenstown is the eighth person in New Zealand to be diagnosed with coronavirus.
It is the first confirmed case of the virus in the South Island.
The woman, in her 30s, had travelled from Denmark. She had been hospitalised for one night in Queenstown after falling unwell and testing positive for Covid-19.
The Ministry of Health said the woman was in the process of being discharged and put in self-isolation.
The woman had arrived in Auckland on flight QR920 from Doha, Qatar, in the early hours of March 10.
She then flew to Christchurch the same day on flight JQ225, arriving at 8am.
She travelled to Queenstown using a private rental vehicle.
The Otago Daily Times reported the woman checked into a holiday park near Queenstown's city centre.
The woman did an adventure activity on Thursday and ate at a restaurant later that evening, when she began feeling unwell.
She received the positive test result on Saturday, after she went to Queenstown Medical Centre's Isle St clinic late on Thursday or early on Friday, the ODT reported.
The woman ate at another downtown restaurant on Friday and possibly used shared facilities while at the holiday park.
The woman is now in isolation in a camper van at a camping hub in Frankton. It has been closed to other campers, the ODT reported.
In a press conference in Christchurch on Sunday afternoon, director general of health Ashley Bloomfield confirmed she had been travelling with family members.
He said the focus was on following up with people who have had close contact with the woman, notably her family.
He was confident the public health unit would have made appropriate arrangements for them, he said.
The woman would self-isolate for two weeks.
Queenstown Lakes Mayor Jim Boult said in a statement he hoped the woman would make a "speedy recovery".
"In the meantime, she will be provided with the care and support she needs during this difficult and understandably concerning time," he said.
Boult said the current situation was a reminder for accommodation providers to think through their management of guests who have to self-isolate.
"There is no need for panic buying but this is a good time to follow the normal emergency management preparedness guidelines to have food and requirements to last for several days," he said.
Boult declined to comment further when approached by Stuff.
Contact tracing is under way for those who might have come into contact with the woman on her flights, or in her travels around New Zealand.
The Ministry of Health also confirmed the seventh case, an Australian man in his 60s in Wellington, on Sunday.
In Akaroa, Canterbury, three passengers aboard the Golden Princess cruise have been quarantined and are being tested for coronavirus. Two of the three people have been identified as close contacts of a confirmed case.
