Covid-19: 126 new community cases
There are 126 new community Covid-19 cases - 107 in Auckland, 18 in Waikato and one in Northland.
The Ministry of Health released the figures in a statement this afternoon. The total number of cases in hospital is 49, down from 53 yesterday.
An MoH spokesperson says two community cases reported yesterday were incorrectly classified and have been removed from the total community case count and added to the cases at the border. One previously reported community case has been confirmed as a historical case.
An MIQ worker has now been classified as a community case after investigation.
The Ministry is also aware of a small number of cases in Auckland in Corrections custody.
"These people were exposed to Covid-19 prior to coming into custody and are being managed appropriately to avoid any potential for the virus to spread to the prison population. There is no evidence of in-facility transmission to date," the spokesperson says.
"The Department of Corrections has controls in place to minimise risks relating to the transmission of COVID-19, including health screening, separating all newly arrived prisoners for their first 14 days, testing prisoners for COVID-19 on days 0, 5, and 12, and isolating suspected and confirmed cases."
Nationwide, 67 per cent of prisoners have received their first dose and 50 per cent are fully vaccinated. The prison population changes daily due to arrests and releases, and Corrections is carrying out significant work to encourage prisoners to be vaccinated.
Since the start of the Covid-19 vaccine rollout, more than 500 people who have been released from custody have also been fully vaccinated while in prison. Meanwhile, 81 per cent of prison-based staff have received their first dose and 66 per cent are fully vaccinated.
Waikato confirmed a further 18 cases overnight, with six in Hamilton, five in Te Awamutu/Kihikihi, four in Ôtorohanga, two in Ngâruawahia, and one in Kawhia. However, the Ministry says all cases have been epidemiologically linked.
"Public Health have confirmed that 14 were known contacts of previous cases and were already in isolation and in daily contact with Public Health," the Ministry says. "A number of Waikato locations of interest have been identified in recent days and we encourage people to continue checking the Ministry of Health website for those locations."
Two further staff members at Edmonton Meadows care home in Henderson have now tested positive for the virus, bringing the total number to 12.
Two of the positive residents are receiving appropriate ward-level care at North Shore Hospital.
The care home continues to operate under Alert Level 3 guidelines for visitors, meaning people have only been able to visit the facility on compassionate grounds. As the source of the infection in the facility remains unknown, Whole Genome Sequencing is underway.
In Auckland, public health officials are now supporting 582 cases to safely isolate at home.
"The safety and security of individuals with Covid-19 and their families remains paramount when people are isolating at home with public health oversight. If people can’t safely isolate at home they may be moved to a managed isolation or quarantine facility."
People who have symptoms, no matter how mild, are being asked to get a test regardless of vaccination status, especially if they live in the suburbs of Redvale, Rosedale, New Lynn, Wiri, Drury, Henderson and Manurewa.
"Testing numbers across Auckland remain strong and public health staff are focusing on testing in areas with higher positivity rates."
There are 18 community testing centres available for testing across Auckland today. For up-to-date information on testing locations in Auckland, visit Auckland Regional Public Health Service.
There is one new case to report in Kaitaia in Northland today, who is a household member of the Northland case announced yesterday. This brings the region’s total number of cases to 14, with three people now recovered.
All of the cases in Northland are isolating at home with public health oversight, the spokesperson says.
"Public Health interviews continue to identify new locations of interest and we do ask people in Northland to check the Ministry’s locations of interest webpage regularly, which is updated throughout the day. Each location of interest has corresponding advice."
There were 1,125 tests processed throughout Northland yesterday and 1,161 vaccinations given.
