3 May 2021

Covid-19 update 3 May: Four cases in MIQ as Ministry monitors Perth developments

1:36 pm on 3 May 2021

Four new cases of Covid-19 have tested positive in managed isolation and quarantine in the past day, the Health Ministry says.

expanded coronavirus, covid-19 causing a pandemic of respiratory disease with risk of mortality worldwide. Copy Space. 3D rendering

File image Photo: 123rf.com

In a statement, the ministry said with three recovered cases, total active cases were at 25. Total confirmed cases were at 2266.

No new cases were found in the community. Laboratories processed 2246 tests yesterday, for a seven-day rolling average of 3779.

The ministry said it was continuing to monitor developments in Western Australia after a Perth managed isolation facility worker and two of their housemates tested positive for Covid-19 at the weekend.

Officials had determined the risk to New Zealand was low, it said.

"So far, no one who has arrived in New Zealand has contacted Healthline to say they were at any of the 17 locations of interest currently connected to these cases at the specified times," the ministry said.

It advised people who were in Perth between 27 April and 1 May to continue checking the Western Australian government website for updates.

It said anyone recently arrived in New Zealand who had been at a location of interest at the specified time should self-isolate immediately and call Healthline on 0800 358 5453 to seek a test.

"If you were at a location of interest at a specified time and you are still in Perth and are planning to travel to New Zealand, you are asked to follow the Western Australia health advice regarding isolation and testing on the above website. Anyone who has been at a location of interest cannot travel to New Zealand from Australia within 14 days of exposure."

The ministry said it had directly or indirectly contacted more than 800 Western Australia-New Zealand passengers who travelled between 27 April and 1 May.

All 397 passengers aboard three flights which left Brisbane International Airport after the green zone breach on Thursday 29 April have also been contacted, and a further two people contacted Healthline to say they had been at the locations of interest at the Airport at the relevant time, bringing casual-plus contact numbers to 29.

Casual-plus contacts were asked to self isolate and get tested five days after potential exposure, while the remaining passengers not at locations of interest at the specified times were advised to monitor their health and call Healthline to arrange a test if symptoms appeared.

The ministry said all contacts of the airport worker case had now tested negative at day 12 and the case was considered closed.

The four new cases idendified today included day-zero or day-one positive tests in people arriving from India via UAE; Indonesia and the Philippines btoh via Singapore; as well as one person arriving from Pakistan via UAE who tested positive on day eight as a member of a travel bubble with another case who was reported on 27 April.

There were four new cases in managed isolation reported on Sunday and none in the community.

Meanwhile, an increased Covid-19 testing regime is being considered for managed isolation and border workers, Director General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield says.

Authorities are considering introducing saliva testing every two to three days, in addition to existing nasal swab tests.

Get the RNZ app

for ad-free news and current affairs