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Tuesday's Covid-19 update: 40 cases in Auckland and three in Waikato; 19 cases unlinked

Tuesday's Covid-19 update: 40 cases in Auckland and three in Waikato; 19 cases unlinked
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The Ministry of Health is reporting 43 new Covid cases. Of these 40 are in Auckland and three in Waikato.

This follows 35 cases on Monday and 60 on Sunday.

Of the latest cases 19 were unlinked. The three Waikato cases were linked and had been in isolation.

Of the 35 cases reported on Monday, 23 of those cases were infectious in the community and 14 remain unlinked at this stage.

There are now 74 unlinked cases from the past two weeks.

The Government next reviews Alert levels for Auckland next Monday, while the settings for Northland and Waikato are due to be reviewed on Wednesday (October 13).

There are 34 people in hospital. Five of these are in ICU, with one of these requiring ventilation.

Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield said since the start of this outbreak there had been 158 hospitalisations. Of these, just three had been fully vaccinated.

There were 15,000 first vaccine doses administered in the country on Monday, with over 4000 of these in Auckland.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern 82% of eligible people nationally had received a first jab, and 58% a second jab.

In Auckland the figures were 87% and 63%.

Ardern said the figures were "good", but "not yet high enough" to be able to confidently relax conditions.

She said in conjunction with the 'Super Saturday' vaccination day this weekend, there would be an eight-hour televised 'Vax-a-thon' from noon, with a nostalgic reference to the old Telethons in New Zealand years ago. 

As had been reported by the Ministry earlier, the second person sought in connection with positive Covid case travelling to Northland has now tested positive and is in managed isolation. 

Of 18 contacts of the first person involved, 17 have so far tested negative.

This is the detailed update from the Ministry of Health:

12 October 2021

Cases  
Number of new community cases* 43
Number of new cases identified at the border ** Three (including one historical)
Location of new community cases Auckland (40); Waikato (3)
Location of community cases (total) Auckland 1,612 (1,1169 of whom have recovered); Waikato 35; Wellington 17 (all of whom have recovered).
Number of community cases (total) 1,664 (in current community outbreak)
Cases infectious in the community   23 of yesterday’s cases have exposure events (66%)
Cases in isolation throughout the period they were infectious   12 of yesterday’s cases (34%)
Cases epidemiologically linked 24 of today’s 43 cases
Cases to be epidemiologically linked 19 of today’s 43 cases. Interviews are ongoing to determine how they’re linked  
Cases epidemiologically linked (total) 1,568 (in the current cluster) (74 unlinked from the past 14 days)
Number of sub-clusters 16 epidemiologically linked subclusters. Of these, five are active, one is contained and 10 are dormant. There are 14 epidemiologically unlinked subclusters. Of these, five are active, zero are contained and nine are dormant.
Cases in hospital 34 (total): North Shore (6); Middlemore (17); Auckland (9); Waikato Base Hospital (1); Palmerston North Hospital (1)
Cases in ICU or HDU Five
Confirmed cases (total) 4,345 since pandemic began
Historical cases, since 1 Jan 2021 (total) 169 out of 2,530 since 1 Jan 2021. One previously reported community case is now reclassified as historical.
Contacts  
Number of active contacts being managed (total): 2,261
Percentage who have received an outbound call from contact tracers (to confirm testing and isolation requirements) 77%
Percentage with at least one test result 75%
Locations of interest  
Locations of interest (total) 357 (as at 10am 12 October)
Tests  
Number of tests (total) 3,619,154
Number of tests total (last 24 hours) 16,565
Tests processed in Auckland (last 24 hours) 13,981
Tests rolling average (last 7 days) 22,014
Testing centres in Auckland 20
Wastewater  
Wastewater detections No unexpected detections in the last 24 hours.
COVID-19 vaccine update  
Vaccines administered to date (total) 5,902,104; 1st doses: 3,463,004; 2nd doses: 2,439,100
Vaccines administered yesterday (total) 69,118; 1st doses: 15,107; 2nd doses: 54,011
Mâori 1st doses: 349,760; 2nd doses: 218,901
Pacific Peoples 1st doses: 220,267; 2nd doses: 149,171
Vaccines administered to Auckland residents to date (total) 2,149,995: 1st doses: 1,244,381 (87%); 2nd doses: 905,614 (63%)
Vaccines administered to Auckland residents yesterday (total) 26,102: 1st doses: 4,355; 2nd doses: 21,747
NZ COVID-19 tracer  
Registered users (total) 3,292,188
Poster scans (total) 423,938,171
Manual diary entries (total) 18,081,628
Poster scans in 24 hours to midday yesterday 2,163,409

Cases identified at the border

Arrival date From Via Positive test day/reason Managed isolation/quarantine location
29 September ** Russia United Arab Emirates Day 0 / routine Auckland
9 October Ukraine Turkey and Singapore Day 0 / routine Rotorua

Historical cases identified at the border

Arrival date From Via Positive test day/reason Managed isolation/quarantine location
24 September ** South Africa Qatar Day 1 / routine Auckland

*The previously reported Bay of Plenty case has been reclassified as not a case and removed from the case count.

**These two cases were first classified last month as under investigation. Following a review of records the cases have now been reclassified as confirmed. These cases have been added to today’s case numbers.

Update on the UN worker from Fiji

The UN worker who was referred and treated here for COVID-19 illness has made an excellent recovery and is being discharged from Middlemore hospital after a total of 76 days in hospital.

Northland testing and vaccination centres

In Northland, there were 3,363 doses of COVID-19 vaccine given yesterday - 1,168 first doses and 2,194 second doses. To date, there have been 111,631 first doses and 80,139 second doses of the vaccine administered.

Today there are five community testing sites and four community vaccination centres operating.

Community testing is available at:
Whangarei – Rock and Roll car park, Pohe Island (9am–4pm)
Whangarei - Kamo, 20 Winger Crescent (9am –4pm)  
Dargaville – Dargaville Hospital (9am-4pm)
Kerikeri – 1 Sammaree Place (9am-4pm)  
Kaitaia – Kaitaia Hospital, 29 Redan Road (9am-4pm)  
 
Community COVID-19 vaccination centres are operating at:
Kaitaia – The Old Warehouse Building, 11 Matthews Ave (10am-5pm)
Kerikeri - 1 Sammaree Place (10am-5pm))  
Whangarei – Northland Events Centre (8am-7.30pm)
Dargaville - 22a Normanby St (10am-2pm)
 

The Ministry also issued this release about the Northland case:

The travelling companion of the first Northland case, who was located by Police in West Auckland last night, has now tested positive for COVID-19 and has been transferred to an MIQ facility.

The person is being interviewed and any new locations of interest in Auckland and Northland will be posted on the Ministry of Health website as they become available.

We can also report that 18 contacts have been identified as associated with the first Northland case. Contact tracers have made contact with 17 of these individuals, one of whom is the travelling companion and four who are household contacts. All 17 of these individuals have been tested. The remaining contact is being actively followed up by contact tracers and will be advised to get a test.

Of the 18 contacts identified, nine are in Northland, seven are in Auckland, one is in Wellington, and one is still to be determined. We previously reported 19 contacts, however one of these was a double entry which has now been rectified.

Northland DHB has stepped up testing and screening at Northland hospitals for visitors and patients. Anyone with symptoms should get tested and people in Auckland and Northland should continue checking the Ministry’s website for new locations of interest.

Director of Public Health Dr Caroline McElnay says this would help limit any potential spread of infection from the case. Public health interviews with the case are underway to confirm their movements says Dr McElnay.

The DHBs are also encouraging vaccination at general practice, pharmacy, Māori health providers and DHB clinics.

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