Thursday's Covid-19 update: 15 community Covid-19 cases

Ministry of Health reports 15 community Covid-19 cases with all in Auckland

23rd Sep 21, 1:00pm by Gareth Vaughan

Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield says there are 15 community Covid-19 cases to report on Thursday.

Bloomfield says most are household contacts, with three as yet unlinked to prior cases. All 15 are in Auckland.

He says Wednesday's one unlinked case has now been linked to a previous case. Ten, or 43%, of Wednesday’s cases had exposure events. Mt Wellington has been added as a suburb of interest.

More than 8,000 tests were conducted in Auckland on Wednesday.

There were 49,667 vaccinations administered on Wednesday, with 24,339 first doses, and 25,338 second doses.

There are 15 people in hospital with Covid-19, with three in intensive care. Of 1123 cases in the current outbreak, 861 people have now recovered.

See details on the new modelling from Shaun Hendy and co here.

Here's the Ministry of Health's press release.

15 community cases of COVID-19; two cases at the border; more than 49,000 vaccines yesterday

23 September

Cases
Number of new community cases	15 (3 are currently unlinked, 2 are contacts of cases and 10 are household contacts).
Number of new cases identified at the border	Two (one historical)
Location of new cases	Auckland
Location of community cases (total)	Auckland (including 4 cases in Upper Hauraki) 1,106 (844 of whom have recovered); Wellington 17 (all of whom have recovered);
Number of community cases (total)	1,123 (in current community outbreak)
Cases infectious in the community	10 (43%) of yesterday’s cases have exposure events
Cases in isolation throughout the period they were infectious	13 (57%) of yesterday’s cases
Cases epidemiologically linked	12 of today’s cases
Cases to be epidemiologically linked	3 of today’s cases
Cases epidemiologically linked (total)	1,088 (in current cluster) (14 unlinked from past fortnight)
Number of sub-clusters	Ten epidemiologically linked subclusters. Of these, two are active, six are contained and two are dormant. There are 13 epidemiologically unlinked subclusters. Of these, four are active, two are contained and seven are dormant
Cases in hospital	15 (total): North Shore (1): Auckland (4); Middlemore (10).
Cases in ICU or HDU	Three
Confirmed cases (total)	3779 since pandemic began
Historical cases, since 1 Jan 2021 (total)	153 out of 1,961 since 1 Jan 2021
Contacts
Number of active contacts being managed (total)	1,137
Percentage who have received an outbound call from contact tracers (to confirm testing and isolation requirements)	90%
Percentage with at least one test result	89%
Locations of interest
Locations of interest (total)	132 (as at 10am 21 September)
Tests
Number of tests (total)	3,287,055
Total number of laboratory tests processed (last 24 hours)	19,194
Tests rolling average (last 7 days)	13,740
Swabs taken in Auckland (last 24 hours)	8370
Testing centres in Auckland	22
Wastewater
Wastewater detections	No unexpected detections in ESR’s latest testing
COVID-19 vaccine update
Vaccines administered to date (total)	4,867,818: 1^st doses: 3,171,029; 2^nd doses: 1,696,789
Vaccines administered yesterday (total)	49,667: 1^stdoses: 24,339; 2^nd doses: 25,338
Māori	1^stdoses: 301,435; 2^nd doses: 148,527
Pacific Peoples	1^stdoses: 194,609; 2^nd doses: 103,649
NZ COVID-19 tracer
Registered users (total)	3,245,226
Poster scans (total)	378,191,688
Manual diary entries (total)	16,852,091
Poster scans in 24 hours to midday yesterday	2,510,433

New cases identified at the border

Arrival date	From	Via	Positive test day/reason	Managed isolation/quarantine location
21 September	Russia	United Arab Emirates	Day 0 / Routine	Auckland

Historical cases identified at the border

Arrival date	From	Via	Positive test day/reason	Managed isolation/quarantine location
6 September	Thailand	Singapore	Day 12 / routine	Auckland

We welcome your comments below. If you are not already registered, please register to comment

Remember we welcome robust, respectful and insightful debate. We don't welcome abusive or defamatory comments and will de-register those repeatedly making such comments. Our current comment policy is here.

35 Comments

by blobbles | 23rd Sep 21, 1:11pm 1632359462

I suddenly fell in love with Jacinda, she said "complex systems", though I doubt she has an understanding of them, much like most of the population (even though their bodies are exactly that!).

by Tigadee | 23rd Sep 21, 1:18pm 1632359912

LMAO!

by Spike2 | 23rd Sep 21, 1:12pm 1632359566

15 cases today. Not convinced that the government is getting on top of this.

by muzled | 23rd Sep 21, 1:46pm 1632361597

The government doesn't get on top of it, we the people get on top of it or don't get on top of it.

If you want the government to get on top of it you'll also be happy with state rule and all that comes with it, which given your comment I'd imagine you wouldn't be.

by CWBW | 23rd Sep 21, 1:13pm 1632359593

15 people.

0.001% of Auckland's population.

by sparrow | 23rd Sep 21, 2:28pm 1632364105

Let them loose then, those are rookie numbers.

by Noncents | 23rd Sep 21, 1:20pm 1632360009

Modelling discussion is interesting. The question for me, is are they putting this out there to:

Prepare us for the fact people will die regardless of vaccination? or
Prepare us for permanent lockdowns?

by Foxglove. | 23rd Sep 21, 1:33pm 1632360811

You raise a very valid point. The government has successfully protected NZ to the extent that deaths incurred from Covid are really minimal by international comparison. At some point covid will enter the community and those expecting protection now from vaccination will find that to be unpredictable. That is simply because each individual is of different immune systems, age, physical condition, age, pre-existing weaknesses, on and on. Because of the long protected state to date, and a natural complacency that is attached, when covid then begins to take its toll I suggest New Zealanders in general are ill-prepared for the actual impact of that. It was going to have to happen sooner or later. The vaccine simply will not make everybody bullet proof.

by MortgageBelt | 23rd Sep 21, 1:36pm 1632360995

No.2

by realterms | 23rd Sep 21, 1:57pm 1632362222

Depends what you mean by "lockdown". I think L4 is done for good, and L3's days are numbered. Lots of talk about "sustainable" public health measures, which clearly neither of those are.

My personal reckon is that they're gearing up to get close to 90% first doses (in AKL), declare victory, and go to level 2.

by Sluggy | 23rd Sep 21, 2:03pm 1632362638

Have a look at The Nations interview (sunday gone) with Andrew Little. He was likley lambasted by her highness for the frankness and lack of spin. I thought he talked a lot of sense.

by GV 27 | 23rd Sep 21, 2:11pm 1632363100

90% in Auckland maybe, but strong overtures given to the need for vaccine rates to be high across all demographics and ethnicities before this could happen. So at what point do you stop people living their lives because pockets of the community have refused to engage with a high profile vaccination program?

by realterms | 23rd Sep 21, 2:19pm 1632363557

early-mid October

by GV 27 | 23rd Sep 21, 2:26pm 1632363965

Any longer than that and I think most people will have totally reverted to L2 anyway. Myself and my family and extended family are all fully jabbed, it seems like madness that we could be forced to spend longer and longer unable to see each other because other people in the community have drunk the flavour-aid when it comes to imported anti-vaxx nonsense.

by davef | 23rd Sep 21, 1:50pm 1632361824

I took it as realisation people are over lockdowns and are getting vaccinated as much to avoid them as to avoid covid. So once vax rate is high lockdown compliance could fall apart, and we then need to accept the deaths that will occur. If 100 or so people die each week from covid that'll be news for a few weeks, then they'll just be numbers among the 35000 who die each year anyway. A reasonable number of the covid deaths being among those whose number was up anyway.

Regulating the strain on the health system with non-lockdown measures becomes the mainstay.

Even so, we need to avoid so many constraints that stop younger people meeting up and ultimately creating more young people, otherwise the population dies off anyway.

by Computer | 23rd Sep 21, 8:30pm 1632385812

Yeah, who cares if the oldies kick the bucket - they've had a good innings already, right?

by nigelh | 23rd Sep 21, 10:15pm 1632392129

I should be able to squeeze a few more runs and then fade away, possibly due to covids but I'm fully vaccinated now and have what i classify as minor co-morbidity. Should be Ok for those few extra runs. If other oldies kick the bucket for whatever reason I'm not really concerned.

by Computer | 24th Sep 21, 10:28am 1632436087

So "I've got mine, F you". Wow.

by Dale Smith | 23rd Sep 21, 3:01pm 1632366112

The modelers first, then followed by an angry child and a very old man.

by PonziKiwi | 23rd Sep 21, 1:20pm 1632360032

Great to see Doomlord Shaun Hendy predict 7000 deaths with 75 percent vaccinated.

I'm guessing vaccine will be made compulsory within a month. Those that don't won't be allowed a job or food etc or their CBDC.

by Spike2 | 23rd Sep 21, 1:23pm 1632360226

Well, when this current outbreak started he predicted up to 1000 cases in total. Looks like that was too conservative.

by flyer | 23rd Sep 21, 1:54pm 1632362086

Frankly, nobody really knows what is going on. History will tell us who was less wrong!

by Tigadee | 23rd Sep 21, 1:21pm 1632360081

Why are they talking about vaccines as if it's some new magic bullet they just discovered?

My only thought is about these boosters - much as I support vaccines NOW to combat and minimise Covid-19, I'm not convinced the boosters aren't just cash cows for the vaccine makers...

by PonziKiwi | 23rd Sep 21, 1:23pm 1632360214

That's the thing.

I don't want 40 booster shots in 40 years along with permanent level 2 style lockdown.

by dumbthoughts | 23rd Sep 21, 1:33pm 1632360808

What do you mean you haven't had the 85th booster shot? You disgusting anti-vaxxer!

by Lord Dowding | 23rd Sep 21, 1:30pm 1632360641

Stop the lockdown FGS you can’t eliminate delta.

People are bleeding to death. What is another 2 weeks going to achieve.

by kiwichas | 23rd Sep 21, 2:00pm 1632362405

circa 500,000 more vaccines given, and more protection for us and our health system,when the govt caves in and goes to level 2, which may be a month away rather than 2 weeks looking at the case numbers; that's what my dear Lord.

Of course you already knew that...

by FCM | 23rd Sep 21, 2:00pm 1632362446

yep where is the modelling on this....put away and locked in the bottom draw.

by flyer | 23rd Sep 21, 1:53pm 1632362033

Prof Hendy being rolled out by the government. Another future scapegoat for Ardern to use should things go pear shaped or not to plan.

- Dr Bloomfield

- Prof Hendy

- And more....

by Squishy | 23rd Sep 21, 2:11pm 1632363115

Commentor 1: Go hard and go early. Nuke Auckland!

Commentor 2: Everyone follow the official advice, get the jab and trust Government to react as required to caseload.

Commentor 3: Con't control Covid-19, let her rip and hire a digger for the mass graves. The strongest will survive.

Commentor 4: I have a bottle of horse de-wormer and various healing crystals, I'm never getting vaccinated because it's all lies.

Me: I wonder why companies build rockets instead of hydrogen balloons to take people on scenic near-space flights and Zero G experiences?

by GV 27 | 23rd Sep 21, 2:15pm 1632363355

It's time to ask the question: What vaccination % do we need to hit before Auckland can come down to L2 like the rest of the country. No other fluff, just the number.

And then, to follow up: When will that happen according to your modelling, and what happens if it doesn't happen.

by Nifty1 | 23rd Sep 21, 3:27pm 1632367654

Level 2 for Auckland - will they be able to travel NZ if the rest of the country isn't vaccinated?

by flyer | 23rd Sep 21, 4:04pm 1632369877

Despite National being useless, I feel without them and Act pushing the govt hard on next steps, Labour would have most likely just locked us down for another year and sat on their hands.

by nigelh | 23rd Sep 21, 10:22pm 1632392534

I don't follow the stats but looking at the above what is noticeably absent is current stock levels, which vaccine, expected deliveries time table, quantities and which ones.

Anyone found them buried in a govt website somewhere?

I think 2nd vaccine is still pushed out to six weeks from 1st. Led to believe this is too long.

by Property_Wizard | 24th Sep 21, 7:43am 1632426190

It's time to let it rip and get on with it folks. All the high risk NZers have either been vaccinated or had the chance to. What more can we do. Open the borders. Open everything up. Anything less isn't fair to the hard working NZers and delaying the inevitable...