There are three new imported cases of COVID-19 in New Zealand, the Ministry of Health announced on Tuesday.
The latest update comes a day after Cabinet reviewed Auckland's alert level settings, with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announcing the Super City could officially join the rest of the country at level 1 at 11:59pm on Wednesday.
The three new cases were detected in managed isolation, and there are no cases of community transmission to report.
The first case arrived from India on September 26 and was re-tested after returning a negative result following their routine test at around day three of their 14-day stay in managed isolation. They are a contact of a previously reported case.
The second arrived on October 2 from England via Qatar and Australia, and was tested after becoming symptomatic.
The third case arrived on October 4 from India via England and Qatar, and was tested on arrival after developing symptoms on the flight.
All have been transferred to the Auckland quarantine facility, the Jet Park Hotel.
One person has been hospitalised with COVID-19 overnight, the ministry said. The patient is receiving treatment on a ward at Middlemore Hospital. No cases were hospitalised as of Monday.
New Zealand's total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases now sits at 1502.
Tuesday's three new cases bring the active case total to 43. Of these active cases, 37 are imported and six are community cases.
On Monday, our laboratories processed 2820 tests, bringing the total number of tests completed to date to 985,639.
School holidays
Health officials have reiterated the importance of adhering to public health measures as families enjoy the school break.
With Auckland set to transition to alert level 1 as of Thursday morning, it's imperative that Kiwis continue washing their hands, documenting their location history with the NZ COVID Tracer app, and staying at home when sick. People presenting flu-like symptoms should immediately call their GP or Healthline to discuss getting a COVID-19 test.
New Zealanders who become unwell while on holiday should not wait until they get home to get tested, the ministry warned.
"If you become unwell while on holiday, seek advice from Healthline, your GP or nurse practitioner on getting a test for COVID-19. Do not wait until you return home to get tested," the ministry said in Tuesday's statement.
"Continue to use the NZ COVID Tracer app to keep a record of where you have been - this is especially important on holiday as you may not remember all the locations you have visited."
NZ COVID Tracer
More than 2.2 million Kiwis have now registered on the Government's official contact tracing technology, the NZ COVID Tracer app.
The app has now recorded more than 85 million poster scans, the ministry said, and users have created more than 3.6 million manual diary entries.
Using the app is particularly encouraged under alert level 1, to ensure possible close contacts of a confirmed case can be quickly tracked and contacted in the event of a future community outbreak.
