There are 12 new cases of COVID-19 in New Zealand today, all of which are in managed isolation.

The Director of Public Health Dr Caroline McElnay provided today's COVID-19 health update.

McElnay says the twelve new cases have been transferred to a dedicated quarantine facility, and there are no new cases in the community.

Ten of the 12 new cases arrived from India on September 26, all on the same flight.
The group tested positive on day 3 of their time in managed isolation.

One case arrived from the USA on September 26, and the last case arrived from the Philippines via Taiwan on September 23.

'We acknowledge that this is a high number of cases, and it reflects that most of the rest of the world continues to experience high levels of COVID-19,” says McElnay.

'This also reemphasises why we have strong border control measures in place, including day 3 and day 12 testing to keep New Zealand safe.”

Three previously reported cases have recovered from COVID-19, bringing the total number of active cases to 53.

Of those, 42 are imported and 11 are community cases.

One person is in hospital with COVID-19 – at Middlemore on the general ward.

McElnay urged people to stay vigilant during the school holidays, particularly those travelling around New Zealand.

She highlighted the importance of using the COVID-19 tracer app.

Yesterday, there was one new case of COVID-19 reported in managed isolation in New Zealand today and no new cases in the community.

The person who has tested positive around day 3 of their time in managed isolation arrived from France via Singapore on September 25.

They had been transferred to the Auckland quarantine facility, says a statement from the Ministry of Health.

There are 17 people isolating in the Auckland quarantine facility from the community, which includes nine people who have tested positive for COVID-19 and their household contacts.

One person was in hospital with COVID-19 at Middlemore hospital on Wednesday. The patient is in isolation on a general ward, says the Ministry.