44 community cases of COVID-19; three new cases in managed isolation; more than 82,000 vaccines administered yesterday
There are44new community cases today.20 of these are household contacts, 12 are known contacts, and 12 remain unlinked
with investigations continuing to determine howthey are linked tothe currentoutbreak.
Director of Public Health Dr Caroline McElnay says, “We acknowledge today’s numbers are higher than recent days. This is
not unexpected because there have been a number of contacts of new cases and we can expect to get fluctuations from day
to day.”CasesNumber of new community cases44Number of new cases identified at the borderThree
Location of new community casesAuckland (41) Waikato (3)Location of community cases (total)Auckland 1,450 (1,068 of whom have recovered); Waikato 25; Wellington 17 (all of whom have recovered)Number of community cases (total)1,492 (in current community outbreak)Cases infectious in the community17 of yesterday’s 29 cases have exposure eventsCases in isolation throughout the period they were infectious12 of yesterday’s 29 casesCases epidemiologically linked32 of today’s 44 casesCases to be epidemiologically linked12 of today’s 44 cases.Cases epidemiologically linked (total)1,444 (in the current cluster) (26 unlinked from the past 14 days)Number of sub-clusters16 epidemiologically linked subclusters. Of these, six are active, one is contained and nine are dormant.There are 14
epidemiologically unlinked subclusters. Of these, five are active, none are contained and nine are dormant.Cases in hospital25 (total): North Shore (2); Middlemore (12); Auckland (10); Waikato Base Hospital (1)Cases in ICU or HDUFiveConfirmed cases (total)4,169 since pandemic beganHistorical cases, since 1 Jan 2021 (total)166 out of 2,353 since 1 Jan 2021ContactsNumber of active contacts being managed (total):1,749Percentage who have received an outbound call from contact tracers (to confirm testing and isolation requirements)77%Percentage with at least one test result74%Locations of interestLocations of interest (total)206 (as at 10am 8 October)TestsNumber of tests (total)3,543,083Number of tests total (last 24 hours)29,925Tests processed in Auckland (last 24 hours)10,439Tests rolling average (last 7 days)20,797Testing centres in Auckland22WastewaterWastewater detectionsNo unexpected detections in the last 24 hoursCOVID-19 vaccine updateVaccines administered to date (total)5,621,078; 1st doses: 3,400,749; 2nd doses: 2,220,329Vaccines administered yesterday (total)82,303; 1st doses: 19,705; 2nd doses: 62,598Māori1st doses: 336,832; 2nd doses: 198,104Pacific Peoples1st doses: 214,878; 2nd doses: 136,202Vaccines administered to Auckland residents to date (total)2,044,163: 1st doses: 1,226,962 (86%); 2nd doses: 817,201 (57%)Vaccines administered to Auckland residents yesterday (total)26,277: 1st doses: 4,638; 2nd doses: 21,639NZ COVID-19 tracerRegistered users (total)3,281,845Poster scans (total)414,678,519Manual diary entries (total)17,799,538Poster scans in 24 hours to midday yesterday2,539,723New case identified at the borderArrival dateFromViaPositive test day/reasonManaged isolation/quarantine location24 SeptemberChinaFull travel history to be confirmedDay 12 / routineAuckland5 OctoberRussiaSingaporeDay 0 / routineChristchurch7 OctoberFull travel history to be confirmedQatarDay 0 / routineAucklandWaikato update
The three new cases in Waikato are all linked and contacts of existing cases. Interviews are continuing to determine any
further contacts or locations of interest.
There continues to be a strong response to calls for testing in Waikato with 5,180 swabs taken yesterday. There are
seven pop up testing sites operating today at Claudelands, Te Rapa, Karapiro, Raglan, Huntly, Kawhia and Tokoroa, with
extended hours to cater for demand. The existing testing centre at Founders Theatre is also open.
Further details on exact locations and hours of testing sites are available on the Healthpoint and Waikato DHB sites.
The Ministry of Health urges anyone in the Waikato with any symptoms that could be COVID-19 to get a test.
Waikato turned out in record numbers yesterday to get vaccinated with 10,397 doses given, with large increases seen in
rural areas. This equates to a 4 per cent increase in first doses across the Waikato in one day. 77% of people in the
Waikato have now received their first dose and 52% are fully vaccinated. A big thank you to everyone who came forward.
Alert levels for the whole of the Waikato will be reviewed again on Monday.Update on Auckland case who travelled to Northland
The case
, who recently travelled to Northland, was last night transferred to an Auckland quarantine facility, under strict
infection prevention and control procedures, including the use of full PPE.
The case was under investigation after returning a weak positive result from a test in Whangarei earlier this week and
yesterday returned a positive test result in Auckland.
Public health staff are continuing investigations to identify whether there are any locations of interest or exposure
events associated with the case.
In some instances, a location of interest may not be listed on our website. This doesn’t mean no actions have been taken
around tracing the movements of a case. The focus of publishing locations of interest is on locations where contact
tracers don’t have a good idea of who was there at the relevant time, like bars and supermarkets.
For some locations of interest, like personal appointments, we have a good understanding of who was there at the
relevant time and an effective means of contacting those people via existing communication channels and networks. These
situations are closely managed by contact tracers, who may determine that the location does not need to be added to the
list published online.
Contact tracers are often dealing with people who are stressed and some people can find it difficult to recall where
they’ve been, when they are under pressure.
Locations of interest are
as quickly as possible. We ask people to check these regularly, especially if you have visited, or live in Auckland,
Waikato or Northland.Northland testing centres
There are four testing centres operating in the Northland region. These are at Kaitaia Hospital; 1 Sammaree Place in
Kerikeri, Dargaville Hospital; 20 Winger Crescent in Kamo; and Pohe Island in Whangarei.Possible exposure event at Middlemore Hospital
Counties Manukau DHB has advised the Ministry of Health of two possible COVID-19 exposure events at Middlemore Hospital,
both from the same patient.
On Monday 4 October the patient presented to the Emergency Department for a non-COVID related issue where they stayed
until they were assessed and discharged. They answered no to all screening questions and were asymptomatic.
The patient again presented to ED on Thursday, 7 October.
Following discussion with medical staff, the patient was isolated, tested and moved to a negative pressure room. They
subsequently returned a positive result.
Although asymptomatic on their first visit (Monday, 4 October) ARPHS has determined that their infectious period
encompasses this date and as such are acting out of an abundance of caution in identifying potential contacts.
As of this morning 42 patients and 18 visitors have been identified as contacts.
No staff are required to stand down as they were wearing the appropriate PPE. While there have been a number of exposure
events at Middlemore, this is not unexpected as there are a number of subclusters in South Auckland, for which
Middlemore is the local hospital.Testing and vaccinations
The two best tools we have in the continued fight against COVID-19 are testing and vaccinations – the numbers for both
continue to be high.
Director of Public Health Dr Caroline McElnay says the 29,925 tests processed nationwide yesterday will help inform
public health officials about any undetected community spread.
“However, it is more important than ever that we keep testing, especially over the weekend. The Ministry of Health urges
anyone who has symptoms, no matter how mild, to please get tested.”
Dr McElnay also thanked everyone who’s stepped up to be vaccinated this week.
“Being vaccinated with two doses is the best way to protect yourself, your whānau and the wider community. We’ve seen
people rolling up their sleeves in record numbers again, with each day’s total higher than the previous day.
“Yesterday, our total doses administered of 82,303 ranks in the top 10 highest daily totals since the programme began
and is the highest daily figure since 3 September, and total doses administered to Māori was a record high of 10,145. I
want to acknowledge the efforts of Māori providers and communities to support people to access vaccination.
“The number of second doses administered yesterday – 62,598 – was also the highest ever second dose daily figure. The
more fully vaccinated people in the community, the safer we all are – and there is now more than 51% of the eligible
population who have received two doses,” she said.Travel from Auckland
We have heard reports that people are being turned away from Auckland airport due to not having a test result or their
result being too old.
People leaving Auckland for personal reasons are reminded they must have acceptable evidence of a permitted reason to
cross the alert level boundary and have evidence of a negative test within the last 72 hours.
Further details are available on the Unite Against COVID website.Next update
The Ministry’s updates over the weekend will be via media releases, unless there are any significant developments.
At this stage, the next press conference is scheduled for Monday, 11 October.