Three new imported cases of COVID-19 have been detected in New Zealand's managed isolation and quarantine facilities (MIQ), the Ministry of Health confirmed on Wednesday.
There is no new evidence of community transmission.
Of the latest imported infections, one arrived from the United Kingdom, via Dubai, on November 14. The two other new arrivals returned to New Zealand from Dubai, also on November 14.
All three tested positive due to routine testing at around day three of their mandatory 14-day stay in an MIQ facility.
There are no new recoveries to report on Wednesday, the active case total now sitting at 64. New Zealand has recorded a total of 1652 confirmed cases of COVID-19 to date.
On Tuesday, laboratories processed 8392 tests, bringing the total number of tests completed to date to 1,199,426.
Four new imported cases were recorded on Tuesday. As of Thursday, masks will once again become mandatory on public transport, including planes, trains, buses and ferries.
Update: November quarantine cluster
Auckland Regional Public Health Service (ARPHS) is continuing to pursue contacts connected to existing cases in the November quarantine cluster, which originated after a New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) worker - known as Case A - contracted the virus while stationed at Auckland's quarantine facility, the Jet Park Hotel.
No additional close contacts of known cases have returned positive results.
Residents at the Auckland accommodation facility where Case A has been staying have all undergone a second test, all of which have come back negative.
Genome sequencing has shown that Cases A, B, D and E are all part of the same outbreak. The Ministry of Health is still awaiting the sequencing from Case C, who is a close contact of Case B.
Epidemiological investigations into Case D - a student at Auckland University of Technology and a shop assistant at A-Z Collections in central Auckland - are yet to determine how she became infected, although genome sequencing indicates the woman most likely contracted the virus from Case A.
Wider testing around these known cases gives health officials greater confidence that there are no undetected links in the chain of transmission, the ministry said in Wednesday's update.
Laboratories in Auckland have received more than 22,000 tests from the community since Case D came to light on Thursday. All have returned negative results except for Case E, who is a close contact of Case D, the AUT student.
"However, we continue to encourage anyone who visited a location of interest during the relevant time period to get tested - to ensure that we quickly identify anyone who may have been infected," the ministry said.
Anyone who develops cold or flu symptoms anywhere in the country should immediately get in touch with their health care provider or Healthline (0800 358 5453) and organise a test.
NZ COVID Tracer
The Government's official contact tracing technology, the NZ COVID Tracer app, now has 2,370,100 registered users.
Poster scans reached 118,712,806 on Wednesday, and users have created 4,907,639 manual diary entries.
"Please continue to use the app to scan in to locations displaying a QR code - you never know when you will need to call on your contact tracing diary. The more every person scans, the safer we will all be."
