Ministry of Health Covid-19 update
August 18, 2020
There are 13 new confirmed cases of Covid-19 to report in the community today.
There are no new cases to report in managed isolation.
Twelve of the 13 new cases are linked to previous cases in the cluster, and one remains under investigation but is believed to be linked to the same cluster.
There are 98 people linked to the cluster who have been moved into the Auckland quarantine facility, that includes 44 people who have tested positive and their household contacts.
There are six people receiving hospital-level care for Covid-19, two in Auckland City Hospital, and four in Middlemore.
The 13 new confirmed cases to report today bring our total number of confirmed cases of Covid-19 to 1,293 which is the number we report to the World Health Organization.
One previously reported probable case has now been classified as under investigation.
The total number of active cases of Covid-19 in New Zealand is now 90, of which 69 are part of the recent community outbreak, and 20 are imported cases in managed isolation and quarantine facilities.
Genomic sequencing
Genomic sequencing has provided more information about two cases of Covid-19 that were under investigation.
We have been able to genomically link the household of five positive cases – with one person currently in Auckland hospital – to the existing cluster.
It still remains for us to investigate how the household is epidemiologically linked, but we now know that the virus found in the cluster is closely linked to the one in this household.
This gives us a level of reassurance that these people are part of the same cluster rather than two separate clusters.
In addition to this – partial genome sequencing results indicate that another case is not linked to the community cluster.
This second case is a man who is a maintenance worker at the Rydges Hotel, which is being used as a managed isolation facility in Auckland.
The man carried out maintenance tasks on rooms between bookings, following full infection prevention and controls, including wearing appropriate PPE.
He tested positive on August 16, and the partial genome sequencing indicates his case is most closely linked to a positive case from the Rydges on July 31, a returnee from the USA.
Further genome sequencing and matching is being completed on this case today.
Contact tracing
Since August 11, 1880 close contacts have been identified and 1691 of those have been contacted and are self-isolating and we are in the process of contacting the rest.
A number of locations can become of interest as we go through our contact tracing process.
In most instances people who were at the location at the same time as a person who has later tested positive for Covid-19 as considered casual contacts who should monitor their health and contact their GP or Healthline if they become unwell.
Some casual contacts will be asked to get tested and should self isolate until results come back.
There is no need to avoid or discriminate against these places – we are releasing this information so anyone who may have been present but has not been identified through contact tracing interviews or processes can be aware and know what they need to do. The risk is very low.
We have been using the Covid Tracer App to contact people in the relevant locations and times when they have scanned in.
Many of the locations yesterday include households, but there are two locations of interest:
– Pak n Save Supermarket, Apirana Avenue, in Glen Innes, Auckland. The confirmed case visited the supermarket a number of times between July 31 and August 8, sometimes for up to an hour.
– Mt Roskill Primary School. The confirmed case was there in the 24 hour period between 1.40pm on August 10 and 1.40pm on August 11.
Anyone who visited these locations during that period should be aware of symptoms and seek a test if they become symptomatic.
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A final report is expected to be completed imminently from MPI and ESR which have investigated one possible route of transmission for the virus through chilled surfaces on materials arriving from overseas.
The full report will have the detail, but it seems clear that this possibility is being ruled out by the investigation. We expect to have the details of this announced later this week.
Face masks
The Ministry is aware that misinformation has been circulating on social media that face masks can restrict the flow of oxygen into your lungs and therefore your bloodstream.
It’s important to make sure everyone knows this is totally false – the pore size of a face mask is typically more than 1000 times larger than an oxygen molecule.
To demonstrate their safety, Tom Lawton, a doctor in the UK, recently ran for 22 miles – about 35 kilometres – while wearing a three-layered face mask.
Throughout the run he wore a pulse oximeter on his finger to monitor his oxygen levels, which never dropped below 98 per cent.
To put that in context, a reading of under 90 per cent would be considered low.
So, the message to New Zealanders is to make sure you get your information from a reputable source such as the Ministry’s daily updates – not social media – and that wearing a face mask will not restrict your flow of oxygen, even if you have a respiratory condition.
You can find guidance on the Ministry’s website on how to use a face mask safely.
Exemptions
Under the current Alert Level 3 restrictions, there are strict criteria around who can enter and leave Auckland.
To date, the Ministry has received 5000 applications for exemptions, 700 exemptions have been granted, and 160 declined. Exemptions have been granted, for example, where they need to access medical services, provide care for a vulnerable person, visit a dying relative or move house.
Businesses are also being granted exemptions if there are risks to critical infrastructure or supply chains.
NZ Covid Tracer
NZ Covid Tracer has now recorded just shy of 1.5 million users – 1,499,000 which is 37% of the population aged 15 and over.
There have been more than 234,000 posters created. There have been more than 7,240,000 poster scans and more than 1,081,000 manual entries.
To clarify for all New Zealanders and businesses, customers and visitors who scan the QR code with the NZ Covid Tracer app don’t also need to sign into the contact register maintained by the business.
Site-specific contact tracing registers are for customers and visitors who are unwilling or unable to use the NZ Covid Tracer app.
