Tuesday: 79 new cases - limited to Auckland and Waikato

From the Ministry of Health:

There are 79 new community cases of COVID-19 to report today.

As at 10am, 46 of these cases are linked - including 24 household contacts - and 33 remain unlinked, with investigations continuing to help determine their connection to the outbreak.

New cases identified at the border

Today’s cases
*Two previously reported cases – one community case and one border case – have been reclassified as “not a case” and a further five border cases have been

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

Hospitalisations
There has been a decrease in hospitalisation from COVID-19 following a number of discharges over the weekend.  

This reflects some instances where individuals were identified as having COVID-19 when presenting for other issues and were admitted for a short period while their other issues were managed.

The average age of hospitalisations in the current outbreak is 45 years, however over the past fortnight the average age of hospitalisations is 38. This reflects a trend of younger hospitalisations overall, with only six percent of the 372 hospital admissions in this outbreak being amongst the 65 and over age group.

Northland update
There are no new confirmed cases of COVID-19 to report in Northland, with cases in the region, associated with this outbreak, remaining at seven.
However, people living in Northland are urged to remain vigilant and get tested if they have any symptoms that could be COVID-19.
We also ask that those in the region continue to monitor the Ministry’s locations of interest webpage, which is updated regularly, with initial locations in the region already confirmed. Anyone who visited these locations of interest at the specified times is asked to monitor their symptoms for 14 days and if any develop, get tested and stay at home until a negative test result is received and they have been symptom-free for 24 hours.

We would like to remind people that, as standard protocol, locations of interest are deep cleaned to ensure there is no ongoing risk of transmission from the premise. As an additional precaution, we also recommend that everyone wears face coverings in public areas, washes their hands regularly, uses the NZ COVID Tracer app to keep track of everywhere they go, and get vaccinated if they haven’t already.
Testing and vaccination clinic locations across the region are available on the Northland DHB website.

The Northland region remains at Alert Level 2

Auckland update
Auckland public health officials continue to urge residents of the North Shore suburbs of Redvale and Rosedale to get tested as soon as possible if they have even mild symptoms of COVID-19, even if they are vaccinated.

This follows high positivity rates of more than 6 percent in Redvale and 3.8 percent in Rosedale.

This testing will help to provide assurance that any undetected spread of COVID-19 in these communities is identified as quickly as possible.

New Lynn and Bayswater are no longer specific areas of concern however residents in these areas are urged to be vigilant for symptoms and get tested no matter how mild.

Community Testing Centres on the North Shore are operating at: 
·        North Harbour Stadium, Oteha Valley Road in Carpark B – open 8.30am to 4.30pm  
·        Northcote Community Testing Centre, Corner of College Road and Kilham Avenue – open 6.30am to 6.30pm  

Testing is also available at GP and Urgent Care clinics, the locations of these can be found on the Healthpoint website.

Waikato update
The four new cases of COVID-19 in Waikato today were all expected and linked and were in isolation throughout their infectious period.
All new cases are in Te Awamutu/Kihikihi area and isolating currently at home with public health support.
This brings total cases for Waikato during this outbreak to 91, with six cases for which epidemiological links remain under investigation.
Waikato DHB is continuing to carry out testing throughout the region, to help determine any undetected community spread of COVID-19.
Two bakeries have been added as locations of interest in Tokoroa, connected with the person who stayed at a residential address overnight in the town before flying to Blenheim from Rotorua Airport. The DHB has a pop-up testing site open in Tokoroa today through to at least Thursday at the Hospital car park.
Anyone in Waikato - in particular, people in Te Awamutu and Ôtorohanga – is urged to get tested if they have any symptoms that could be COVID-19.
Testing locations can be viewed on the Healthpoint and Waikato DHB websites.
Over the long weekend there were 9,089 tests processed for the Waikato, including 1,951 yesterday. There were 4,160 vaccinations over the same period, including 670 yesterday. Although many vaccination sites were open throughout the weekend, reduced numbers were expected.
Nelson/Marlborough update
Interviews are continuing with the person recently identified in Blenheim who is currently isolating.

The person’s three close contacts, including two house household contacts, are due for further testing this week, following their initial negative test results over the weekend.
It is important to reiterate at this stage there have been no further COVID-19 cases reported in the region

People living in Tokoroa, Blenheim and Nelson, Tasman and Marlborough are asked to monitor the Ministry of Health’s locations of interest page, which is regularly updated.

We are also asking residents in Marlborough, Nelson and Tasman with symptoms – no matter how mild – to please get tested, even if they are vaccinated.

Testing in the region is available today and tomorrow in Blenheim and Nelson
-Horton Park, off Redwood Street, Blenheim – open until 9 today and tomorrow
-The Saxton Field parking area in Suffolk Road, Stoke – open until 4pm today.