Friday - Covid: 198 new cases, 76 in hospital

From the Ministry of Health:

Auckland DHB is fast closing in on being the first DHB in the country to be 90% fully vaccinated – as of 11.45am today, there were just 101 more people who needed to receive their second shot to reach this significant milestone. The DHB is expected to reach this marker this afternoon.
 
And, as of earlier morning, only 755 more Māori from Auckland DHB need to receive their first dose to reach 90 percent of Māori getting their first vaccination. 75 percent are already fully vaccinated in this DHB so far.
 
Only 1035 more Pasifika from Auckland DHB need to receive their first dose to reach 90 percent of Pasifika, and 78 percent are already fully vaccinated.

                 

COVID-19 vaccine update  
Total first and second vaccines administered to date (percentage of eligible people) 7,296,948: 3,825,945 first doses (91%); 3,471,003 second doses (82%)
Total first and second vaccines administered yesterday 20,663: 6,635 first doses; 14,028 second doses
Māori (percentage of eligible people) 806,728: 447,459 first doses (78%); 359,269 second doses (63%)
Pacific Peoples (percentage of eligible people) 476,760: 254,762 first doses (89%); 221,998 second doses (77%)
Total first and second vaccines administered to Auckland residents yesterday 4,215: 1,150 first doses; 3,065 second doses
Vaccination rates by DHB (with active cases)  
Northland DHB (percentage of eligible people) First doses (83%); second doses (73%)
Auckland metro DHBs (percentage of eligible people) First doses (93%); second doses (87%)
Waikato DHB (percentage of eligible people) First doses (90%); second doses (80%)
Taranaki DHB (percentage of eligible people) First doses (88%); second doses (77%)
Canterbury DHB (percentage of eligible people) First doses (94%); second doses (84%)
Lakes DHB (percentage of eligible people) First doses (86%); second doses (75%)
MidCentral DHB (percentage of eligible people) First doses (90%); second doses (80%)
Bay of Plenty DHB (percentage of eligible people) First doses (87%); second doses (77%)
Wairarapa DHB (percentage of eligible people) First doses (90%); second doses (80%)
Hospitalisations  
Cases in hospital 76 (including 2 still being assessed): North Shore (18); Middlemore (26); Auckland (28); Waitakere (1); Whangarei (1); Waikato (1)
Vaccination status of current hospitalisations (Northern Region wards only as of 17 November) Unvaccinated or not eligible (47 cases / 57%); partially vaccinated<14 days (9 cases / 11%) partially vaccinated >14 days (10 cases / 12 %); fully vaccinated <14 days (3 cases / 4%) fully vaccinated >14 days (12 cases / 14%); unknown (2 cases / 2%)
Average age of current hospitalisations 50
Cases in ICU or HDU Six
Cases  
Seven day rolling average of community cases 191
Number of new community cases 198
Number of new cases identified at the border One (and one historical)
Location of new community cases Auckland (152), Waikato (30), Northland (5), *Bay of Plenty (6) *Lakes (2), *MidCentral (1), Wairarapa (1), Canterbury (1)
Location of community cases (total) Auckland 6,102 (2,089 of whom have recovered); Waikato 312 (98 of whom have recovered); Wellington 17 (all of whom have recovered); Northland 58 (24 of whom have recovered); Nelson/Marlborough 1 (recovered); Canterbury 6 (3 of whom have recovered); Taranaki 6; Lakes 17; *MidCentral 3; Bay of Plenty 7; *Wairarapa 3
Number of community cases (total) 6,532 (in current community outbreak)
Confirmed cases (total) 9290
Historical cases 195 out of 7,478 cases since 1 January
Cases infectious in the community** 34 of 130 cases reported yesterday have exposure events
Cases in isolation throughout the period they were infectious** 71 of 130 cases reported yesterday have no exposure events
Cases epidemiologically linked 110 of today’s 198 new cases
Cases to be epidemiologically linked 88 of today’s 198 new cases
Cases epidemiologically linked (total) 5018 (832 unlinked in the last 14 days)
Contacts  
Number of active contacts being managed (total): 5,843
Percentage who have received an outbound call from contact tracers (to confirm testing and isolation requirements) 70%
Percentage who have returned at least one result 52%
Locations of interest  
Locations of interest (total) 90 (as at 10am 19 November)
Tests  
Number of tests (total) 4,601,206
Number of tests total (last 24 hours) 28,997
Tests processed in Auckland (last 24 hours) 15,646
Tests rolling average (last 7 days) 28,620
Testing centres in Auckland 18
Wastewater  
Wastewater detections See below
NZ COVID Tracer  
Registered users (total) 3,381,186
Poster scans (total) 515,698,735
Manual diary entries (total) 20,379,580
Poster scans in 24 hours to midday yesterday 2,707,850



** The number of cases here may sometimes differ from the total reported the previous day due to a difference in reporting timeframes and reclassifications.

New case identified at the border

Arrival date From Via Positive test day/reason Managed isolation/quarantine location
11 November England TBC Day 5 / routine Auckland




Historical case identified at the border

Arrival date From Via Positive test day/reason Managed isolation/quarantine location
2 November China Vessel Pre-departure testing Vessel – Papa Mau



My Vaccine Pass
As of mid-morning today, about 700,000 people had successfully downloaded their My Vaccine Pass.

The system is operating smoothly and capacity has been increased, so we encourage people to go to MyCovidRecord.health.nz to book their My Vaccine Pass to be ready for summer.

Wellington weak positive
Last night, a weak positive COVID-19 result was picked up as part of routine surveillance testing in Wellington.

This was for an essential worker from Auckland working in the city.

The result could indicate a historical case or a case in the earlier stages of infection.

The worker is having a repeat test today and follow-up with the workplace includes tests of co-workers.

*Today’s cases
Today we are announcing new cases in Northland, Auckland, Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Wairarapa and Canterbury.

A case announced yesterday in the Bay of Plenty is officially added to today’s figures. A case announced yesterday in Ashurst is officially added to today’s figure. A case reported yesterday in Levin has been reclassified as a Wairarapa case and has been added to the Wairarapa tally. A second case being reported today in Lakes DHB is being investigated and may reside outside of the district.

Information on the new cases is included in the regional updates below.

Auckland update
There are 152 new COVID-19 cases to report in Auckland today.

There are 18 community testing centres available for testing across Auckland today. The Pukekohe community testing centre is open until 5.30pm today and over the weekend. Northcote, Balmoral, Wiri and Ōtara testing centres continue to operate extended hours.
 
In the past week there have been 112,511 community tests for COVID-19 received at labs across Auckland. This is an incredible effort – especially for all front line testing staff who are out in all weathers, and the laboratory teams who are working tirelessly to process these swabs.           

Public health staff are now supporting 5,200 people to safely isolate at home, which includes 2,035 cases. 

The Ministry can confirm the woman in her 80s who died yesterday at Middlemore Hospital was a resident of Edmonton Meadows Care Home. Our condolences are with her family and friends at this sad time.

Lakes
Today we are announcing two new cases in Lakes, bring the region’s total to 17.

One case is in Taupō and is a household contact of a known case. They are self-isolating at home.

A second case being reported today in Lakes DHB is being investigated and may reside outside of the district.

Anyone with COVID-19 related symptoms in the region, is encouraged to get tested – even if the symptoms are mild.

Testing is available today in Rotorua and Taupō. Please check the Healthpoint website for details

Yesterday, 555 tests were carried out across the region.

Across the region, 86 per cent of eligible people have had at least one dose of vaccine and 75 per cent have had two doses.

Waikato update
There are 30 cases of COVID-19 to report in Waikato today, bringing the total number associated with this outbreak to 214.
 
One new location of interest was added for Cambridge.
 
There is one case currently receiving care at Waikato Hospital.
 
Across the Waikato there are eight pop-up and dedicated testing centres operating today at Hamilton, Otorohanga, Huntly, Ngāruawāhia, Thames, and Te Kuiti.
 
There were 3,100 tests processed in the Waikato yesterday and 2,293 vaccinations given.
 
In the Waikato region, public health staff are supporting 300 people to isolate at home, including 115 cases and 185 contacts.

Bay of Plenty
Today we are reporting six new cases in the Bay of Plenty, one of which was first announced yesterday. This takes the region’s total to seven.

Of the new cases announced today, one lives in the Tauranga area, and four are in Mount Maunganui. All but one of the above cases are household contacts of known cases.

Links between the remaining Mount Maunganui case and known cases are still being investigated.

All cases are self-isolating at home.

As a precaution, a Bay of Plenty school linked to one of the cases had been closed today and all students and staff are being offered tests.

Interviews are continuing to determine case movements. Any locations of interest will be added to the Ministry’s website as they are identified.

Everyone who lives in or has travelled to the region is asked to monitor locations of interest regularly and follow any advice given.  Anyone with COVID-19 related symptoms is asked to get tested as soon as possible – even if the symptoms are mild.

Testing locations can be found on the Healthpoint website.

Yesterday, 409 tests were carried out across the region.

Across the region, 87 per cent of eligible people have had at least one dose of vaccine and 77 per cent have had two doses.

Wairarapa
A case reported yesterday in Levin has been reclassified as a Wairarapa case and has been added to the Wairarapa tally. The case is a close contact of an existing case and is now isolating with them in the Wairarapa.

This takes the region’s total number of cases to three.

People in Wairarapa are advised to check the Ministry’s website for any locations of interest and if they have symptoms, even if they are mild and they are vaccinated, get a free COVID-19 test at your nearest medical practice. Please check the Healthpoint website for details.

As investigations continue, additional locations of interest at sites in Wairarapa will be added to the Ministry of Health’s webpage if they are identified.

Yesterday 182 tests were carried out across the region.

Across the region, 89 of eligible people have had at least one dose of vaccine and 73 have had two doses.

Canterbury
There is one new case to report in Christchurch today. The case recently travelled to the North Island, and a probable link to another case is being investigated.

Every new case is an urgent reminder to get tested if you’re feeling unwell. Testing at high numbers will help to minimise and contain the spread of COVID-19 in Christchurch.

There is good testing capacity across the city today and over the weekend. Testing locations throughout Canterbury can be found on the Canterbury DHB website.  

The Ministry continues to ask people in Canterbury to regularly check the Ministry’s locations of interest page.

If you haven’t had your first dose yet, or are overdue for your second dose, there’s plenty of capacity at vaccination clinics in Canterbury this weekend.
Yesterday in Canterbury there were more than 2,700 community tests processed and more than 3,200 vaccinations given.
 
Northland update
There are three cases to report in Northland; one is a close contact in Kaitaia, one is a close contact in Whangarei with a clear link to an Auckland case, and one is in Waipu with Public Health interviews underway this morning.

We urge everyone in Northland to remain vigilant and get tested if you have any symptoms that could be COVID-19. We also ask people in Northland to regularly check the locations of interest webpage.

A pop-up testing centre will be stood up at the Ruakaka race course today to increase testing capacity in the area, in response to the Waipu case.

The Centre will be open today from 1pm-5pm, and 9am-2pm on Saturday and Monday. Further testing locations in Northland can be found on the Northland DHB website.

Vaccination is Northland’s best defence against COVID-19, especially as cases continue to be detected throughout the region.

If you haven’t been vaccinated yet, do yourself and your whânau, and get your first dose today. It could save your life, and theirs.

Wastewater update
COVID-19 was detected in wastewater samples collected from Pahiatua on 15 and 16 November but was not detected in a sample collected on 17 November.

Testing is in progress at a number of other sites across the region, including Feilding and Dannevirke, with results due next week.

Anyone in the area who has symptoms – no matter how mild – is encouraged to get tested, even if they are vaccinated. There is testing available in Pahiatua today:
·        Pahiatua Medical Centre, corner of Main Street and Centre Street (until 5pm today). Please call ahead for an appointment.

Testing is also available over the weekend in Palmerston North:
·        575 Main Street (10am -5pm, Saturday and Sunday)

At this stage, there are no other unexpected wastewater results to report.

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