Covid-19: Five new cases and two historical in managed isolation facilities; Napier's wastewater tested
There are five new cases of Covid-19 in managed isolation.
Three of the cases travelled from Fiji, one travelled from Russia via Singapore and another travelled from the UK, the Ministry of Health announced in a statement this afternoon.
There are two historical cases in managed isolation.
Two previously reported cases have recovered since yesterday's update, bringing the number of active cases in New Zealand to 44.
New Zealand’s total number of confirmed cases is 2,570.
A total of 2.5 million Covid vaccines have now been administered in New Zealand as at 11.59pm last night. Of those, 1.58 million were first doses and 918,000 Kiwis have now had two doses and are fully vaccinated.
The Ministry of Health said further wastewater samples taken from Tauranga and Mt Maunganui last Wednesday returned negative results for the virus in relation to the Rio De La Plat ship where 11 crew members had Covid-19.
Meanwhile, wastewater testing is scaling up, now reaching 26 sites in total.
The new sites include Whangarei, Gisborne, Tauranga, Taupo, New Plymouth, Napier, Palmerston North, Nelson, Dunedin and Invercargill, the Ministry said.
"Wastewater is an important surveillance tool to monitor for COVID-19 and can offer us an early warning of cases in the community.
"Any cases of Covid-19 need to be detected quickly in order to stop the virus from spreading in our communities. Detecting Covid-19 in wastewater samples can help alert local communities to be more vigilant, keep up hygiene measures, and get tested and stay home if they are unwell."
