MINISTRY OF HEALTH UPDATE
October 18, 2021
There are 60 new community cases today; 57 in Auckland and three in the Waikato. As at 10am, 36 of these cases are linked – 18 of which are household contacts – and 24 remain unlinked, with investigations continuing to help determine their connection to the outbreak.
| Cases | |
| Number of new community cases | 60 |
| Number of new cases identified at the border | Five |
| Location of new community cases | Auckland (57) Waikato (3) |
| Location of community cases (total) | Auckland 1943 (1,350 of whom have recovered); Waikato 45 (3 of whom have recovered); Wellington 17 (all of whom have recovered) |
| Number of community cases (total) | 2005 (in current community outbreak) |
| Cases infectious in the community | 25 of yesterday’s 51 cases have exposure events |
| Cases in isolation throughout the period they were infectious | 26 of yesterday’s 51 cases |
| Cases epidemiologically linked | 36 of today’s 60 cases |
| Cases to be epidemiologically linked | 24 of today’s 60 cases |
| Cases epidemiologically linked (total) | 1841 (in the current cluster) (140 unlinked from the past 14 days) |
| Cases in hospital | 30 (total): North Shore (5); Middlemore (12); Auckland (13) |
| Cases in ICU or HDU | Five |
| Confirmed cases (total) * | 4696 since pandemic began |
| Historical cases | 171 out of 2,881 since 1 Jan 2021 |
| Contacts | |
| Number of active contacts being managed (total): | 1896 |
| Percentage who have received an outbound call from contact tracers (to confirm testing and isolation requirements) | 83% |
| Percentage with at least one test result | 75% |
| Locations of interest | |
| Locations of interest (total) | 455 (as at 10am 18 October) |
| Tests | |
| Number of tests (total) | 3,773,075 |
| Number of tests total (last 24 hours) | 20,809 |
| Tests processed in Auckland (last 24 hours) | 7490 |
| Tests rolling average (last 7 days) | 24,355 |
| Testing centres in Auckland | 19 |
| Wastewater | |
| Wastewater detections | Ongoing detections at most sites across Auckland |
| COVID-19 vaccine update | |
| Vaccines administered to date (total) | 6,344,212; 1st doses: 3,572,298 (85%); 2nd doses: 2,271,914 (66%) |
| Vaccines administered yesterday (total) | 29,661; 1st doses: 6,253 2nd doses: 23,408 |
| Mâori | 1st doses: 376,983 (66%); 2nd doses: 254,631 (45%) |
| Pacific Peoples | 1st doses: 230,361 (80%); 2nd doses: 170,091 (59%) |
| Vaccines administered to Auckland residents to date (total) | 2,294,199: 1st doses: 1,271,322 (89%); 2nd doses: 1,022,871 (71%) |
| Vaccines administered to Auckland residents yesterday (total) | 11,259: 1st doses: 2,005; 2nd doses: 9254 |
| NZ Covid Tracer | |
| Registered users (total) | 3,305,233 |
| Poster scans (total) | 438,013,153 |
| Manual diary entries (total) | 18,490,337 |
| Poster scans in 24 hours to midday yesterday | 2,040,250 |
New cases identified at the border
| Arrival date | From | Via | Positive test day/reason | Managed isolation/quarantine location |
| 14 October | USA | Direct | Day 0/Routine | Auckland |
| 14 October | Lebanon | United Arab Emirates | Day 0/Routine | Auckland |
| 14 October | India | United Arab Emirates | Day 2/Routine | Auckland |
| 14 October | Greece | To be advised | Day 3/Routine | Auckland |
| 15 October | United Kingdom | United Arab Emirates | Day 0/Routine | Auckland |
*One case reported yesterday has been reclassified as under investigation as a possible historical case and has been removed from the case total.
Northland update
A number of testing sites remain open around Northland today, including at the Three Furlongs Bar and Grill in Kaiwaka – on the boundary between Northland and Auckland. This site will also be open for testing tomorrow.
Auckland update
A staff member at Remuera Gardens retirement village in Auckland has been confirmed as having Covid-19 and was at work whilst infectious.
Public health staff are confident the risk of infection is low but, as a precaution, testing is being arranged for all staff and residents. Both staff and residents at the village have very high vaccination rates.
Public health staff in Auckland are continuing to urge anyone who is moving around Auckland in Level 3 to get a test if they have symptoms of Covid-19.
There are 19 community testing centres available for testing across Auckland today. A full list of sites and opening hours can be found on the Healthpoint website.
Mobile surveillance testing of residential facilities is continuing, including emergency housing, transitional housing, boarding houses, motels and community housing providers. So far, testing has been completed at approximately 50 sites.
Waikato update
There are three new cases in Waikato. One is linked to known cases, while interviews and investigations are continuing to determine any link for the other two cases.
Investigations are also continuing to determine the links of two cases reported last week and two cases from yesterday.
Waikato DHB’s website and Healthpoint have up to date information on community testing centres in the region. Pop up testing sites have opened in Hamilton, Whatawhata (west of Hamilton) and Kihikihi (near Te Awamutu).
Yesterday there were 4020 tests undertaken in Waikato and almost 1,489 doses of vaccine administered.
