MINISTRY OF HEALTH UPDATE
October 2, 2021
There are 27 new community cases today. 14 of these are household contacts, eight are known contacts and five are under investigation to determine how they are linked to the current outbreak.
Due to the highly infectious nature of the Delta variant within households, we expect to see fluctuations in case numbers at this stage in the outbreak.
22,041 tests were taken yesterday, including more than 13,083 swabs taken in the Auckland region.
We would like to thank everyone in Tāmaki Makaurau who has come forward to be tested.
Yesterday 2878 tests were received from our seven suburbs of interest. We are encouraging anyone living in these suburbs, both with and without COVID-19 symptoms, to get tested. These suburbs are Clover Park, Māngere, Favona, Manurewa, Mount Wellington/Sylvia Park, Henderson and Papakura.
| Cases | |
| Number of new community cases | 27 |
| *Number of new cases identified at the border | One |
| Location of new community cases | Auckland |
| Location of community cases (total) | Auckland (including four cases in Upper Hauraki; all of whom are in the same household) 1277 (1051 of whom have recovered); Waikato 1; Wellington 17 (all of whom have recovered) |
| Number of community cases (total) | 1295 (in current community outbreak) |
| Cases infectious in the community | Ten of yesterday’s 19 cases have exposure events |
| Cases in isolation throughout the period they were infectious | Nine of yesterday’s 19 cases |
| Cases epidemiologically linked | 22 of today’s 27 cases. |
| Cases to be epidemiologically linked | Five of today’s 27 cases. Investigations are continuing to determine a link. |
| Cases epidemiologically linked (total) | 1263 (in the current cluster) (Ten unlinked from the past fortnight). |
| Number of sub-clusters | 15 epidemiologically linked sub-clusters. Of these, three are active, eight are contained and four are dormant. There are 14 epidemiologically unlinked sub-clusters. Of these, three are active, four are contained and seven are dormant. |
| Cases in hospital | 22 (total): North Shore (3); Middlemore (13); Auckland (6) |
| Cases in ICU or HDU | Three |
| Confirmed cases (total) | 3962 since pandemic began |
| **Historical cases, since 1 Jan 2021 (total) | 163 out of 2,145 since 1 Jan 2021 |
| Contacts | |
| Number of active contacts being managed (total): | 1002 |
| Percentage who have received an outbound call from contact tracers (to confirm testing and isolation requirements) | 81% |
| Percentage with at least one test result | 70% |
| Locations of interest | |
| Locations of interest (total) | 98 (as at 12pm 2 October) |
| Tests | |
| Number of tests (total) | 3,419,544 |
| Number of tests total (last 24 hours) | 22,041 |
| Tests processed in Auckland (last 24 hours) | 13,083 |
| Tests rolling average (last 7 days) | 14,765 |
| Testing centres in Auckland | 18 |
| Wastewater | |
| Wastewater detections | No unexpected detections in the last 24 hours |
| Covid-19 vaccine update | |
| Vaccines administered to date (total) | 5,269,060; 1st doses: 3,308,253; 2nd doses: 1,960,807 |
| Vaccines administered yesterday (total) | 47,512; 1st doses: 12,278; 2nd doses: 35,234 |
| Māori | 1st doses: 320,845; 2nd doses: 172,785 |
| Pacific Peoples | 1st doses: 206,618; 2nd doses: 120,450 |
| Vaccines administered to Auckland residents to date (total) | 1,916,263: 1st doses: 1,198,541 (84%); 2nd doses: 717,722 (50%) |
| Vaccines administered to Auckland residents yesterday (total) | 19,841: 1st doses: 4,428; 2nd doses: 15,413 |
| NZ Covid-19 tracer | |
| Registered users (total) | 3,265,945 |
| Poster scans (total) | 400,400,150 |
| Manual diary entries (total) | 17,393,646 |
| Poster scans in 24 hours to midday yesterday | 2,611,569 |
*A previously reported border case has been reclassified as historical.
**A previously reported historical case has been reclassified as not a case, therefore the number of historical cases reported today is unchanged from yesterday.
New case identified at the border
| Arrival date | From | Via | Positive test day/reason | Managed isolation/quarantine location |
| 18 September | Maldives | United Arab Emirates | Day 12 / routine | Auckland |
Middlemore Hospital exposure event
Counties Manukau DHB has advised the Ministry of Health of a possible Covid-19 exposure event at Middlemore Hospital last night.
A person presented to Middlemore Hospital’s Emergency Department seeking treatment for issues unrelated to Covid-19.
The patient answered no to all screening questions but, while in triage, clinical staff noted the patient was displaying a Covid-like symptom and took steps to investigate, isolate and test.
The patient subsequently returned a positive Covid-19 result and was moved to a Covid-19 isolation ward at Middlemore Hospital.
The patient was wearing a mask at all times in ED. All staff were wearing appropriate PPE and as such no staff members are required to stand down.
Counties Manukau Health’s Infection Prevention and Control team are working with the Auckland Regional Public Health Service to identify potential contacts.
It is important that people seek help when they’re sick and know that our hospitals are safe. Our Auckland hospitals in particular, are now well used to dealing safely with Covid-19 patients.
Naumi MIQ worker
Whole genome sequencing carried out by ESR has identified a clear epidemiological link between the Naumi MIQ worker who was reported as a positive case on September 30 and another case at the border.
The worker tested positive on September 29 as part of routine surveillance testing. They are fully vaccinated and have been tested regularly. The hours they worked mean they had limited contact with guests at the hotel. They are now isolating in a quarantine facility.
An investigation is underway to determine the pathway of the worker’s infection and identify potential contacts.
