Ministry of Health update
February 27, 2021
There are no new cases in the community to report today.
There is one new case of Covid-19 in managed isolation.
Auckland February cases contact tracing update
There are 3 categories of contacts related to the KFC exposure event.
KFC staff – there are 11 close plus contacts who worked at the same time as Case L. These people have all been contacted and will begin testing today, day 5 since their last contact. They will be isolating for 14 days along with their household contacts.
Members of the public who entered the store between 3.30pm Monday February 22 and 12.30am on Tuesday February 23 are close contacts and should be tested today, day 5. They are also required to get a test on day 12 and continue to isolate at home for the remainder of the 14 day period (until March 8).
Members of the public who went through the KFC drive through between 3.30pm Monday February 22 and 12.30am on Tuesday February 23 are casual plus contacts and should get tested today, day 5 and isolate at home until a negative test result is returned.
Detailed advice about the actions required for the different categories of contacts is provided on the Ministry of Health website.
Progress with tests at Papatoetoe High School
Case A had 31 close contacts at the school, one of these tested positive (Case D). All others have tested negative for Covid-19.
All the remaining students and staff at the school have been designated as Casual Plus contacts of Case A.
There are 1525 casual plus contacts. This number has reduced following further investigation which identified school leavers and absent staff who are not a contact.
As at 8am this morning, excluding the three positive cases (Case E, I and J), 1515 students and staff have returned at least one negative test result since February 15.
All casual plus contacts have been undergoing a follow-up test on or after February 22. So far, all results from the additional testing have been negative.
We continue to work closely with the school to ensure all staff and students are tested.
Papatoetoe High School is expected to open on Monday March 1. Students and staff are all required to produce a recent negative test result (since February 22) before returning to school.
Kmart Botany contacts
A total of 34 staff members have been identified as close plus contacts. This number has increased following further investigation.
We currently have 32 negative test results from this group; testing of others is being done as they fall due.
We have also been contacted by 1762 people who reported being at the store at the times of interest. They have been provided with public health advice. These people have been asked to isolate for 14 days and be tested at day 5 and day 12 after their exposure to the case. People who have symptoms will be tested at different intervals.
We currently have 1680 negative test results for this group.
Locations of interest – self-isolation requirements
Anyone who has visited any locations of interest at the times specified is advised to contact Healthline.
Those that have received a text with their initial Covid test result should continue to follow the advice given for the period of self-isolation.
An update for contacts that visited the Kmart and Dark Vape stores on the time specified are:
· If you went to either store on Friday February 19, you are required to self-isolate until Friday March 5.
· If you went to either store on Saturday February 20, you are required to self-isolate until Saturday March 6.
If you have symptoms but have not been to a location of interest stay home and call Healthline for advice.
Once again, we would like to thank all contacts and their households for isolating and being tested as required to keep their community safe.
Up-to-date information on testing locations in metro Auckland
Additional community testing centres are available in Auckland this weekend, many with extended hours. These are in Wiri, Otara, Botany, Pakuranga Heights, Balmoral, Henderson and Northcote.
In east Auckland, a CTC at Lloyd Elsmore Park, Pakuranga Heights, will be open from 8am – 4pm Saturday and Sunday.
The Botany CTC at Golflands will be open from 10am – 5pm today and 9am – 5pm tomorrow.
For up-to-date information on testing locations in Auckland, visit https://www.arphs.health.nz/ and all testing locations nationwide, visit the Healthpoint website.
New border case details
| Arrival date | From | Via | Positive test day/reason | Managed isolation/quarantine location |
| 21 Feb | Pakistan | United Arab Emirates | Around day 5 / contact of a case | Auckland |
Two previously reported cases have now recovered. The total number of active cases in New Zealand is 66. Our total number of confirmed cases is 2016.
The total number of tests processed by laboratories to date is 1,701,362.
On Friday, 7676 tests were processed. The seven-day rolling average up to yesterday is 7189 tests processed.
Historical cases
Since January 1, there have now been 35 historical cases, out of a total of 206 cases.
NZ Covid Tracer
NZ Covid Tracer now has 2,686,154 registered users, an increase of more than 120,000 users in the last fortnight.
Poster scans have reached 197,874,892 and users have created 7,906,216 manual diary entries. There have been 1,393,485 scans in the last 24 hours.
It’s critical to keep track of where you’ve been and the Covid Tracer app is an easy way to do this. Please continue to scan QR codes wherever you go and turn on Bluetooth tracing in the app dashboard if you haven’t already done so.
