After 102 days, New Zealand reports one new COVID-19 case

New Delhi: New Zealand reported one new case of COVID-19 on Tuesday, with the number of active cases in the country at 22, all in managed isolation or quarantine facilities, according to the country’s health ministry.

It has been 102 days since the last case of COVID-19 was acquired locally from an unknown source, according to the ministry. Tuesday’s case was a man in his 20s who arrived in New Zealand on July 30 from Melbourne in Australia, Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield told a press conference.

“He has been in managed isolation at the Grand Millennium and tested negative for COVID-19 around day three of his stay. He has tested positive around day 12 of his stay and has been transferred to the Auckland quarantine facility,” Bloomfield said.

This case brought New Zealand’s total number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 to 1,220. None of those people are receiving hospital-level care, he said.

Bloomfield thanked the front-line services which continued to provide health services in challenging circumstances.

He said the health ministry is planning for a COVID-19 immunisation programme.

While there is still significant uncertainty on what a potential COVID-19 vaccine might be and how it will be delivered, work is currently underway to strengthen the country’s immunisation system and learn from the recent experiences in managing rapid changes in demand for vaccines — including the response to last year’s measles outbreak and this year’s influenza campaign, Bloomfield further said. (ANI/Xinhua)