There are 12 new cases of COVID-19 in New Zealand's managed isolation facilities, Director of Public Health Dr Caroline McElnay announced on Thursday.
Ten of the 12 cases arrived from India on September 26 on flight AI1354. The cases were spread out throughout the plane, Dr McElnay said, between rows 14 and 41.
"We acknowledge that this is a high number of cases, and it reflects that most of the world continues to experience high levels of COVID-19. This also re-emphasises why we have strong border control measures in place, including day three and day 12 testing, to keep New Zealand and New Zealanders safe," she said.
One case arrived from the US on September 26, and the other from the Philippines via Taiwan on September 23. They were tested as a contact of a confirmed case, and tested positive on September 30.
All 12 cases tested positive at around day three of their mandatory 14-day stays in managed isolation. All have since been transferred to the dedicated quarantine facility, the Jet Park.
One person is hospitalised with the virus and is in isolation on a general ward at Auckland's Middlemore Hospital. Fourteen people are currently staying at the quarantine facility - five of which are confirmed cases and their household contacts.
Three previously reported cases are now considered recovered as of Thursday, bringing the active case total to 53 - 42 of which are imported. The remaining 11 were detected in the community.
Dr McElnay reassured New Zealanders that the precautions are tightly managed and the system is working as intended.
"We have to take universal precautions at all times. Our assumption is that for anyone coming into New Zealand, they may have been exposed to COVID, they may be infectious or incubating - so every step of our process is designed to make sure that people are managed from when they get off that plane, to when they are transferred to their initial facility," she explained.
"While they're in that facility, they are tested at day three - if they're positive, then the transfer to Jet Park will be tightly managed. We can't let our guard down after that... which is why we then hold people in isolation for the full 14 days, do another test, and only at that point can we be certain they are COVID-free."
Since August 11, the Ministry of Health's contact tracing team have identified 4047 close contacts of confirmed cases. All have been contacted, Dr McElnay said, and are either self-isolating or have completed their 14 days of self-isolation.
New Zealand's confirmed case total now sits at 1492, which is the number reported to the World Health Organization.
On Wednesday, laboratories processed 5679 tests, bringing the test total to date to 966,238.
"I want to remind everyone enjoying a break for the school holidays of the importance of staying vigilant to stop any spread of COVID-19. Please don't let your guard down," Dr McElnay said.
New Zealanders enjoying a holiday should still document their location history using the NZ COVID Tracer app, and must call Healthline to organise a test if they become symptomatic.
"Do not wait until you get home to get tested," she warned.
