Ministry of Health Covid-19 update
July 20, 2020
Today there is one new case of Covid-19 in managed isolation to report.
It has now been 80 days since the last case of Covid-19 was acquired locally from an unknown source.
Today’s case is a man in his 40s who arrived in the country last Wednesday from Mexico, flying via Los Angeles.
He tested positive following day 3 surveillance testing and has been transferred, along with his family, to a quarantine facility in Auckland.
The number of active cases in New Zealand is now 26.
The total number of confirmed cases of Covid-19 is now 1,204, which is the number we report to the World Health Organization.
One person was transferred from Auckland’s quarantine facility to Middlemore Hospital yesterday evening for an unrelated health condition. This person is in a stable condition.
Members of staff treating the man were made aware that he had returned from overseas to a managed quarantine facility and appropriate protocols were followed, including the use of PPE. No members of staff are considered close contacts.
The patient was cared for in a separate room in the Emergency Department at Middlemore Hospital before being transferred to a separate room on one of the hospital wards.
Middlemore Hospital has considerable recent experience of treating patients with Covid-19. Members of the public can be assured that the hospital is safe for patients, visitors and staff.
Yesterday our laboratories processed 681 tests. The vast majority of these, 673, were swabs taken from managed isolation facilities, as these are processed promptly.
The Ministry is aware that school holidays and lower rates than usual of influenza in the community may have an impact on testing. It is also encouraging anyone offered a test to take it, as this is an important part of our overall strategy to detect any community cases of Covid-19 as quickly as possible.
The Ministry is working with General Practice representative groups to look at actions required to ensure an appropriate level of testing in the community, as part of our overall testing and surveillance.
Our seven day rolling daily average number of tests is 1932 and the total number of tests completed in New Zealand to date is 443,169.
NZ Covid Tracer
NZ Covid Tracer has now recorded 615,400 registered users.
There have been 79,903 posters created to date.
The Ministry continues to remind New Zealanders to keep a record of where they’ve been as this remains one of the best tools in the continued fight against Covid-19. That’s why we are continuing to encourage all New Zealanders to download, register and use the app.
