The Ministry of Health confirmed 16 new cases of coronavirus over Wednesday and Thursday, bringing New Zealand's total cases to 28.
These cases are all associated with international travel, the ministry's Director General Dr Ashley Bloomfield says, and there is no evidence of community transmission.
The following details relate to the 16 newest cases from Wednesday and Thursday. Some flight numbers and patient details are yet to be released by the Ministry of Health.
Details of all previous cases can be found here.
Northland
There is one confirmed case in the Northland region. That case is:
- A man in his 20s who had returned from Paris. He travelled on flight EY38 from Paris to Abu Dhabi on March 14, flight EY450 from Abu Dhabi to Sydney and flight VA0141 from Sydney to Auckland, arriving on March 16.
Auckland
There are six new confirmed cases confirmed in Auckland in the past two days. The details of those patients are:
- A man in his 50s who travelled extensively through Europe. Details of his flights are yet to be released.
- A woman in her 40s who arrived in Auckland on March 9 from Europe. Her flight details are still to come.
- A man in his 60s who arrived in Auckland on flight NZ007 from San Francisco on March 13
- Another man in his 60s who had travelled from Canada. His flight details are yet to be confirmed.
- A third man in his 60s who arrived in New Zealand on flight NZ05 from Los Angeles on March 13
- A man who travelled from London to Singapore on March 13 on flight QF2, Singapore to Melbourne on March 14 on flight QF36 and Melbourne to Auckland on flight QF153.
Waikato
There are two confirmed cases in Waikato. Those cases are:
- A woman in her 20s who arrived on March 8 from Sydney. Her flight details are still to come.
- A man in his 70s who had travelled in Europe and arrived in New Zealand on March 15. His flight details are yet to be confirmed.
Rotorua
There is one confirmed case in Rotorua. The details of that case is:
- A man who arrived from France on March 13. His flight details are yet to be released.
Taranaki
There are two confirmed cases in Taranaki. Details of those cases are:
- A woman in her 40s who arrived in New Plymouth on March 9 from Cairo. She travelled on flight EK926 from Cairo to Dubai, flight EK448 from Dubai to Auckland and flight NZ8041 from Auckland to New Plymouth.
- A man in his 40s who had also travelled from Cairo, but via Vancouver. He was on flight LH581 from Cairo to Frankfurt, flight NZ23 from Vancouver to Auckland and flight NZ8035 from Auckland to New Plymouth. He arrived in New Zealand on March 15. It is currently unknown what flight he was on from Frankfurt to Vancouver.
Canterbury
There is one confirmed case in the Canterbury region. The details of that case are:
- A woman in her 40s who arrived from London on March 16. Her flight details are still to come.
Invercargill and Southland
There are three confirmed cases in Southland. One is in Invercargill and two cases are in the wider Southland region. Those cases are:
- A man in his 40s who arrived from the Gold Coast on March 10. Details of his flight are still to come.
- Details of the other two cases in the Southern DHB are yet to be released.
New Zealand's other cases
The 12th COVID-19 case was recorded on Tuesday and it is a student at Dunedin's Logan Park High School. They are the child of an infected man who had recently returned from Germany. That school is now closed and is undergoing cleaning.
Dr Bloomfield said on Wednesday there are 150 close contacts for this individual. In addition to going into self-isolation, these individuals will be tested over the next day.
The Ministry of Education's secretary of education Iona Holsted said there are no plans at the moment for widespread school closures. Temporary closures, like at Logan Park, are planned for. She said the risk to children continues to be low.
"Closing schools doesn't stop people meeting," she said.
Holsted said bringing forward school holidays was not a matter of consideration.
However, Dr Bloomfield stressed that restrictions around mass gatherings should be taken seriously and further advice is being considered by the COVID-19 Cabinet Committee. He said authorities were looking at Australia's move to limit gatherings to no more than 100 people.
