Sixteen new imported cases of COVID-19 have been detected in managed isolation and quarantine facilities (MIQ) over the past four days, the Ministry of Health announced on Sunday.
There is no new evidence of community transmission.
One historical community case from seven months ago has been confirmed.
There has been an average of around four cases per day in the past four days of COVID-19 at the border.
The first case arrived on 17 December from the United States. The person tested positive on day seven as they were a close contact of another case on the same flight. This person is now in quarantine in a facility in Christchurch.
The second case arrived on 19 December from India via the United Arab Emirates. This person tested positive at routine testing around day three and was transferred to Auckland's quarantine facility.
The third and fourth cases were travelling together and arrived on 20 December from India via the United Arab Emirates. They tested positive at routine testing around day three. They have both been moved to Auckland's quarantine facility.
The fifth and sixth cases travelled separately, arriving on 20 December from India via the United Arab Emirates and tested positive from routine testing around day three. Both people have now been transferred to Auckland's quarantine facility.
The next case, an air flight support crew member, arrived on 22 December from France. This person tested positive following routine testing on day two and has been transferred to the Auckland quarantine facility. One close contact has been identified and that person has returned a negative result and is in self-isolation.
The eighth and ninth cases arrived on 21 December from the United States. They tested positive at routine testing around day three. Both have been transferred to quarantine in a facility in Christchurch.
The tenth case arrived on 22 December from Pakistan via Qatar and Australia. This person was symptomatic and tested positive on day one. The person has been transferred to Auckland's quarantine facility.
The eleventh case arrived on 22 December from Malaysia via the United Arab Emirates. The person tested positive at routine testing around day three and has been transferred to Auckland's quarantine facility.
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The next case arrived on 22 December from India via Malaysia and the United Arab Emirates. The person tested positive at routine testing around day three and has been transferred to Auckland's quarantine facility.
The thirteenth case arrived on 22 December from India via the United Arab Emirates. The person tested positive at routine testing around day three. The person has been transferred to Auckland's quarantine facility.
The fourteenth case arrived on 22 December. The last leg of their journey was from Singapore but their country of origin is yet to be confirmed. The person tested positive at routine testing around day three and has now been transferred to Auckland's quarantine facility.
The fifteenth case arrived on 24 December from India via the United Arab Emirates. The person was tested on day one as they were symptomatic. The person has been transferred to Auckland's quarantine facility.
The last case, a historical case from May, is now being confirmed after having been investigated. The person, based in Christchurch, returned a weak positive result.
The results from additional testing were inconclusive and it was determined the case was likely to be historical at time of diagnosis.
At the time, the person was a close contact of a family member who had recently returned from overseas and was in self-isolation at home as managed isolation facilities were yet to be established.
The person was fully recovered in May and is now being recorded as a community case to formally close off the investigation.
Fifteen previously reported cases have now recovered. The total number of active cases in New Zealand is 50. Our total number of confirmed cases is 1788.
The total number of tests processed by laboratories to date is 1,394,812.
NZ COVID Tracer
NZ COVID Tracer now has 2,420,400 registered users.
Poster scans have reached 144,622,903 and app users have created 5,829,315 manual diary entries.
"Over the summer holiday break, the Ministry is reminding all New Zealanders to keep each other safe and use the COVID Tracer app to scan QR codes and turn on Bluetooth functionality."
"This will allow you to receive an alert if you have been near another app user who tests positive for COVID-19. Find out more."
