UPDATE: The Ministry of Health has confirmed a third case of COVID-19 on the morning of 5 March, 2020. Details have not yet been provided on the person or location of this third case.
Health officials can confirm this is not the partner of the second case. The Ministry of Health is expected to provide more details this afternoon.
On 4 March, The Ministry of Health confirmed the second case of COVID-19 in New Zealand. The Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield said the New Zealand citizen is a woman in her 30s who recently returned from travelling in northern Italy.
Health authorities have begun notifying the family and have started the process of contact tracing.
In a statement, the Ministry of Health reassured the public the risk of an outbreak remains low. “Although we have our second case of COVID-19, with continued vigilance the chance of widespread community outbreak is expected to remain low,” they announced.
The woman remains in self-isolation in her home with support from health professionals. As a precautionary measure, the woman’s immediate household contacts are also being kept in isolation. Her partner has also displayed symptoms and is currently being tested.
The woman arrived in New Zealand on flight NZ0283 from Singapore on 25 February. Health officials will be contacting everyone on the flight to provide relevant information and reminds. The woman also took two domestic flights from Auckland to Palmerston North and back on 2 March (flights NZ5013 and NZ8114).
The Government confirmed this week that travel restrictions currently in place for China and Iran will continue for a further week, while people entering the country from South Korea and northern Italy will now be told to go into self-isolation.
So far, 160 tests have been carried out for the coronavirus in New Zealand, with the first case confirmed on 28 February.
