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COVID-19 & Vaccination Update 29 October


125 community cases of COVID-19 including 2 in Christchurch; more than 44,000 vaccinations yesterday

29 October 2021 

There are 125 new community cases of COVID-19 to report today, 118 in Auckland, four in Waikato, one in Northland, two in Canterbury.

The rise in case numbers is a reminder of the infectiousness of COVID-19, and particularly the Delta variant, and the importance of vaccination as the best protection. With over 30,000 tests processed nationwide yesterday, these results aren’t unexpected.

A further case in Auckland who is an MIQ worker, first announced yesterday, remains under investigation to determine whether they are a community or border-related case.

As at 10am, 74 of today’s cases are linked - including 29 household contacts and 51 remain under investigation.

Cases  
Number of new community cases* 125 
Number of new cases identified at the border 3 and 1 historical 
Location of new community cases Auckland (118), Waikato (4), Canterbury (2), Northland (1) 
Location of community cases (total) Auckland 2,911 (1,511 of whom have recovered); Waikato 105 (32 of whom have recovered); Wellington 17 (all of whom have recovered); Northland 8 (all active cases); Nelson/Marlborough 1 (active case); Canterbury 4 (all active cases) 
Number of community cases (total) 3,046 (in current community outbreak) 
Cases infectious in the community 27 of yesterday’s 89 cases have exposure events 
Cases in isolation throughout the period they were infectious 62 of 89 cases yesterday have no exposure events 
Cases epidemiologically linked 74 of today’s 125 cases 
Cases to be epidemiologically linked 51 of today’s 125 cases 
Cases epidemiologically linked (total) 2,650 (in the current cluster) (289 unlinked from the past 14 days) 
Cases in hospital 39 (total, up from 37 yesterday): Waitemata (9); Middlemore (12); Auckland (18) 
Average age of current hospitalisations: 49 years 
Cases in ICU or HDU Four 
Confirmed cases (total) * 5764 since pandemic began 
Historical cases ** 179 out of 3,950 since 1 Jan 2021 
Contacts  
Number of active contacts being managed (total): 3,066 
Percentage who have received an outbound call from contact tracers (to confirm testing and isolation requirements) 77% 
Percentage with at least one test result 77% 
Locations of interest  
Locations of interest (total) 389 (as at 10am 29 October) 
Tests  
Number of tests (total) 4,037,705 
Number of tests total (last 24 hours) 31,093 
Tests processed in Auckland (last 24 hours) 11,942 
Tests rolling average (last 7 days) 23,677 
Testing centres in Auckland 18 
Wastewater  
Wastewater detections New detection in Christchurch on 27 October, further testing underway. 
COVID-19 vaccine update  
Vaccines administered to date (total) 6,761,930; 1st doses: 3,682,213 (87%); 2nd doses: 3,079,717 (73%) 
Vaccines administered yesterday (total) 44,779; 1st doses: 12,780; 2nd doses: 31,999 
Māori 1st doses: 403,647 (71%); 2nd doses: 289,868 (51%) 
Pacific Peoples 1st doses: 241,024 (84%); 2nd doses: 190,255 (66%) 
Vaccines administered to Auckland residents to date (total) 2,430,162; 1st doses: 1,301,761 (91%); 2nd doses: 1,128,401 (79%) 
Vaccines administered to Auckland residents yesterday (total) 10,519; 1st doses: 2,413; 2nd doses: 8,106 
NZ COVID Tracer  
Registered users (total) 3,330,579 
Poster scans (total) 463,360,769 
Manual diary entries (total) 19,185,541 
Poster scans in 24 hours to midday yesterday 2,520,130

New cases identified at the border

Arrival date From Via Positive test day/reason Managed isolation/quarantine location 
20 October United Kingdom Singapore Day 6/Routine Christchurch 
26 October Russia Singapore Day 0/Routine Christchurch 
26 October Russia Singapore Day 0/Routine Christchurch

Historical cases identified at the border

Arrival date From Via Positive test day/reason Managed isolation/quarantine location 
23 October Philippines Singapore Day 3/Routine Christchurch

Christchurch update

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There are two new expected and linked community cases of COVID-19 to report in Christchurch today, both from a single household linked to the cases identified earlier this week.

This brings the total number of active cases in the region to four. A total of 13 other close contacts have now been identified, who are isolating and will undergo further testing.

The new cases reported today were close contacts of the two initial cases. They are currently isolating with public health support. The local public health unit is gathering further information from these cases to identify any close contacts and exposure events, including any locations of interest.

People across Canterbury are urged to closely monitor the Ministry’slocations of interest webpage, which is updated regularly, with initial sites already identified.

In addition, anyone in Canterbury – especially those in Christchurch – with any symptoms, no matter how mild, are asked to please get tested. Those in Canterbury are also reminded to get vaccinated today and this weekend if they have not already.

Testing and vaccination sites are available across Canterbury, today and into the weekend. Please see the Canterbury DHB website for site locations and hours.

Yesterday across Canterbury, more than 3,000 tests were carried out and nearly 11,000 vaccinations were administered – with 90 percent of residents now having received their first dose, and 71 percent fully vaccinated. Thank you, Canterbury.

Wastewater

COVID-19 was detected in a Christchurch wastewater sample taken on Wednesday (27 October), from a catchment which covers a population of more than 300,000.

Further samples are being collected today from a range of sites across Canterbury, in addition to testing in Christchurch, with laboratory results expected early next week.

Auckland update

We are continuing to concentrate on testing in areas with higher positivity rates and where the risk of unidentified cases is higher. We are asking people in the suburbs of Redvale, Rosedale, New Lynn, Wiri, Drury, Henderson and Manurewa to get a test as soon as possible if they have symptoms – no matter how mild and even if they are fully vaccinated.

Testing is available at GP and Urgent Care clinics, with the locations of these can be listed on theHealthpoint website.

In Auckland, public health officials are now supporting 478 COVID-19 cases in the community to safelyisolate at home.

Auckland retirement home

A resident at Edmonton Meadows retirement village in Henderson has been confirmed as having COVID-19.

Public health staff are confident the risk of infection is low but, as a precaution, testing is being arranged for all staff and residents. Both staff and residents at the village have very high vaccination rates.

Investigations are underway to determine the source of the infection and identify close contacts. At this stage, no staff members are required to stand down.

Waikato update

There are four new cases reported in the Waikato. One has already been linked to existing cases and interviews with the remaining cases are underway..

Three of the new cases were in the Te Awamutu/Kihikihi area and one in Ōtorohanga.

An additional two cases have been confirmed today and will be officially included in tomorrow’s numbers. Both were in Kāwhia at the time they were tested but travelled to the Auckland region before receiving their positive results. They are now in isolation in the Auckland region.

A pop-up testing centre was set up in Kāwhia this morning at the Maketu Marae which will be running for the next three days from 11am to 3pm each day.

Anyone in the Kāwhia areas with symptoms, even if they are mild and they are vaccinated, is urged to get tested.

As well as the permanent testing site in Hamilton, there are five pop-up testing sites operating today in Hamilton, Kāwhia, Ōtorohanga, Whatawhata, and Te Awamutu. Please see the DHB website for location details and the Healthpoint website for all other testing providers.

There were 3,230 swabs were taken/tests were processed throughout Waikato yesterday and 4,018 vaccinations were given.

Blenheim update

There remains no new cases in the Nelson Marlborough region following a case from Waikato notified late last week. The case has been isolating in Blenheim.

ESR advises that wastewater samples taken from Blenheim and Picton on Tuesday have returned negative results.

Northland update

Today we are reporting one new case in Northland, bring the total associated with this cluster to eight. This case is not unexpected, they are a household member of a case and were already isolating.

There were 667 swabs taken and 1,163 vaccinations in Northland yesterday. Northland DHB is continuing to encourage regionwide testing to rule out any undetected community spread.

There are dedicated testing sites operating at Kaitaia, Rawene, Kerikeri, Ōhaeawai, Kawakawa, Dargaville and Whangārei. Details of testing locations are available on the Healthpoint website and the Northland DHB website.

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