MINISTRY OF HEALTH UPDATE
September 20, 2021
| Cases | |
| Number of new community cases * | 22 |
| Number of new cases identified at the border | One |
| Location of new cases | Auckland, Whakatīwai |
| Location of community cases (total) | Auckland (including 3 cases in Whakatīwai*) 1051 (677 of whom have recovered); Wellington 17 (all of whom have recovered); |
| Number of community cases (total) | 1071 (in current community outbreak) |
| Cases infectious in the community | Six (25%) of yesterday’s 24 cases have exposure events |
| Cases in isolation throughout the period they were infectious | 18 (75%) of yesterday’s 24 cases |
| Cases epidemiologically linked | 17 of today’s cases |
| Cases to be epidemiologically linked | Five of today’s cases |
| Cases epidemiologically linked (total) | 1039 (in current cluster) (12 unlinked from past fortnight) |
| Number of sub-clusters * | Ten epidemiologically linked sub-clusters. Of these, two are active, seven are contained and one is dormant. There are ten epidemiologically unlinked sub-clusters. Of these, two are active, three are contained and five are dormant. |
| Cases in hospital | 16 (total): North Shore (1); Auckland (5); Middlemore (10). |
| Cases in ICU or HDU | Four |
| Confirmed cases (total) | 3725 since pandemic began |
| Historical cases, since 1 Jan 2021 (total) | 151 out of 1,908 since 1 Jan 2021 |
| Contacts | |
| Number of active contacts being managed (total) | 1289 |
| Percentage who have received an outbound call from contact tracers (to confirm testing and isolation requirements) | 85% |
| Percentage with at least one test result | 85% |
| Locations of interest | |
| Locations of interest (total) | 141 (as at 10am 20 September) |
| Tests | |
| Number of tests (total) | 3,240,635 |
| Number of tests total (last 24 hours) | 8084 |
| Tests rolling average (last 7 days) | 13,104 |
| Tests in Auckland (last 24 hours) | 3916 |
| Testing centres in Auckland | 24 |
| Wastewater | |
| Wastewater detections | No unexpected detections in ESR’s latest testing |
| Covid-19 vaccine update | |
| Vaccines administered to date (total) | 4,711,410; 1st doses: 3,092,737; 2nd doses: 1,618,673 |
| Vaccines administered yesterday (total) | 26,673; 1st doses: 14,145; 2nd doses: 12,528 |
| Mâori | 1st doses: 291,019; 2nd doses: 141,378 |
| Pacific Peoples | 1st doses:188,534, 3; 2nd doses: 99,048 |
| NZ Covid-19 tracer | |
| Registered users (total) | 3,233,881 |
| Poster scans (total) | 370,812,131 |
| Manual diary entries (total) | 16,630,176 |
| Poster scans in 24 hours to midday yesterday | 2,152,609 |
New cases identified at the border
| Arrival date | From | Via | Positive test day/reason | Managed isolation/quarantine location |
| 10 September | United Kingdom | United Arab Emirates | Day 9 / contact of a case | Auckland |
*SO/Auckland Hotel MIQ worker update
After further investigation, including retesting, the positive Covid-19 test result returned by the SO Hotel MIQ facility worker last week has been determined to be a false positive.
The individual has been notified and will be able to be released from the quarantine facility today.
The Ministry of Health would like to thank the person for their cooperation.
As a result, the net increase in community cases today is 21.
*Whakatīwai cases
The three cases recorded in Whakatīwai fall within the Counties Mānakau DHB catchment and are being counted in the Auckland total.
*Sub-clusters
The number of epidemiologically linked sub-clusters now sits at 10. The new one is associated to two households in South Auckland.
Unlinked cases
Of today’s 22 new community cases, 17 are linked to known cases.
Of the five unlinked cases today; three are from one household; the other two are being interviewed.
Of the 22 new cases today, 10 were already in quarantine when they were tested.
Whole genome sequencing
ESR has now analysed whole genome sequencing from samples taken from several recent cases. This shows the truck driver and a couple who went to Middlemore Hospital with Covid-19 symptoms are genome linked to the main outbreak cluster.
Wastewater testing
Following confirmation of the three cases in northern Hauraki, ESR is currently sampling from Kawakawa Bay and Pukekohe. Samples are being collected from three sites in the region. In addition, new samples are being collected from Cambridge, Ngatea and Paeroa. Results are expected later in the week.
Seven suburbs of interest
Testing in the seven suburbs is continuing with 946 tests taken yesterday across Mt Eden, Massey, Māngere, Favona, Papatoetoe, Ōtara and Manurewa.
The Ministry has asked people in these areas, both with symptoms and without, to get tested to help rule out undetected community transmission. Today we are asking in particular for anyone living in Clover Park, on the south east side of Papatoetoe, to please get tested.
Testing in Kaiaua
There has been a good community turn out for testing in Kaiaua this morning. By 11am today, 150 swabs had been taking. The Waikato DHB has reported wait times of about 30 minutes.
Further update
There will be a further update on the latest cases this afternoon.
