Coronavirus: Travellers snap up all of Air New Zealand's special $9 fares in minutes

Air New Zealand has sold out of the 1000 $9 domestic airfares it put up for sale on Monday morning to try address softening demand as a result of coronavirus. 

Worldwide, more than 86,000 people have contracted the coronavirus strain Covid-19, including one person in New Zealand. There have been more than 2900 deaths.

In a press release, Air New Zealand chief revenue officer Cam Wallace said the "absolutely outstanding" fares were due to "softening domestic demand growth as a result of coronavirus".

An airline spokeswoman said the sale broke all previous Grabaseat records with traffic to its website peaking at 70,000 unique visits shortly after 9am. All of the $9 fares sold out within minutes.

Last week, the company also offered $69 fares to Australia.

New Zealand's only recorded case of Covid-19 came after an infected traveller flew into New Zealand on Wednesday, February 26, from Tehran, Iran via Bali on Emirates flight EK450.

Health officials have contacted 18 passengers who were seated near the person, but not all have responded.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told media on Sunday health officials would be knocking on doors to find the final people seated near the infected passenger.

Ardern said the patient's condition was stable and continued to improve. The patient - in their 60s - is being treated in Auckland City Hospital in a negative pressure room to prevent spread of the disease. Three of their family members are also in self-isolation.

AIR TRAVEL "SIMILAR TO MOVIE THEATRES"

The International Air Transport Association (Iata) said the risk of contracting a disease from an ill person on board an airplane was similar to that in other confined areas with high occupant density, such as a bus, train, or movie theatre.

In fact, the risk on airplanes was probably lower than in many confined spaces because modern airplanes had cabin air filtration systems equipped with high efficiency particulate air (HEPA), which performed similar to those used to keep the air clean in hospital operating rooms and industrial clean rooms, it said.

"These filters are very effective at trapping microscopic particles as small as bacteria and viruses."

They captured more than 99 per cent of the airborne microbes and small particles such as bacteria and viruses in the filtered air, the association said.

The cabin air system was designed to operate most efficiently by delivering approximately 50 per cent outside air and 50 per cent filtered, recirculated air.

"The total air supply is essentially sterile and particle-free."

HOW FAST DOES CORONAVIRUS SPREAD?

Ebola is slower, but measles is very much faster than coronavirus.

In the grand scheme of prominent diseases, coronavirus sits somewhere near mid-pack in terms of how infectious it is, according to Popular Science.

On average about 2.5 people will catch coronavirus from one sick person, according to estimates as of mid-February.

Two people on average will catch Ebola from a sick person. SARS spreads at an average of about 3.5 new patients per one sick person.

A disease like mumps spreads much more quickly: about 5.5 people on average will catch the disease from a sick person.

Measles, however, spreads like wildfire in comparison: about 15 people on average will catch the disease from a single sick person.

These figures do not show how deadly a disease is - only how infectious.