MINISTRY OF HEALTH UPDATE
June 24, 2021
There are no new cases of Covid-19 to report in the community in New Zealand today.
There are also no cases to report in recent returnees in managed isolation facilities since the Ministry’s last update yesterday.
Seven previously reported cases have now recovered. The number of active cases in New Zealand is 17.
The seven-day rolling average of new cases detected at the border is one. Since January 1, 2021, there have been 76 historical cases, out of a total of 551 cases.
Our total number of confirmed cases is 2367.
Australian traveller who visited Wellington
Further public health advice has been issued following an Australian traveller from Sydney, who was in Wellington last weekend, and tested positive for Covid-19 upon their return to Australia.
The visitor was in Wellington from Saturday June 19 until Monday June 21.
New South Wales health officials have confirmed an epidemiological link of the person who tested positive to the Bondi cluster, providing reassurance the person did not contract Covid-19 in Wellington. Genome sequencing of the visitor is underway
Four initial close contacts in New Zealand who were previously identified are isolating, following public health advice, and have all returned negative test results.
So far, 420 people have been identified as contacts – of those, 167 have been tested, 15 have returned a negative result and the remaining are pending a test result.
Of the 420 people, a significant number of these people have been referred by Healthline, so they have already been given key public health information around isolating and getting tested. Of those people, 164 have been spoken to by our contact tracing team.
Wellingtonians and visitors urged to check locations of interest
Locations of interest in Wellington, visited by the Australian traveller last weekend, have been published on the Ministry of Health website.
People who have been at these locations at the relevant time should immediately isolate at their home or accommodation and contact Healthline on 0800 358 5453 for advice on testing.
The Ministry’s website will continue to be updated if further exposure sites are confirmed.
There is a Health Act section 70 notice in place that places a legal requirement on all people who were at locations of interest at the relevant times to follow the instructions regarding isolation and testing.
Additional Covid-19 testing sites available in Wellington region
There has been significant demand for Covid-19 testing in the Wellington region.
Yesterday there were 6999 tests nationwide of which 2100 swabs were tested in the Wellington region – five times the number of the day before.
Covid-19 testing volume in the Wellington region is increasing, with capacity for about 3500 swabs to be tested today, and capacity for 4500 swabs tomorrow.
In the Wellington region, testing priority is being given to individuals who have been at a location of interest at the specified time and individuals who are symptomatic.
At this stage, you do not need to be tested if you were not at a location of interest, unless you are symptomatic.
It is critically important we are testing those who are most at risk from Covid-19 first. Anyone who was at a location of interest or is symptomatic should ring Healthline on 0800 358 5453 for advice on testing and how to book a test.
People are asked to book in advance in for a test.
Testing is available and continues to be provided, though there may be some times when people have to wait. Currently Healthline report that callers may face a 20 minute delay on calls and they have put additional staff on to take calls.
Information about where to get tested is provided on Capital and Coast DHB, Hutt Valley DHB, Wairarapa DHB, and Healthpoint, Work is actively being done to make the information more prominent and easier to find.
Additional testing stations are being provided today in the Wellington region. The list of testing stations, and their hours, is provided below:
· Wellington Central, 196-200 Taranaki Street. The site is fully booked today but spaces are available nearby at Haitaitai Park and Wellington Regional Hospital.
· Haitaitai Park, Ruahine Street. Open until 9pm and will reopen at 10am tomorrow.
· Wellington Regional Hospital, carpark by Te Hopai, off Mein Street. Open 1pm – 6pm and will reopen at 8am tomorrow.
· Porirua, 178 Bedford Street. Will be open until 9pm tonight and reopen at 8am tomorrow.
· Johnsonville Medical Centre, 24 Moorefield Road. Open until 4.30pm and will reopen at 9.30am tomorrow.
· Upper Hutt, Heretaunga Christian Centre, 51 Lane Street. Open until 4.30pm.
· Lower Hutt, 729 High Street. Open until 4pm and will reopen at 9am tomorrow.
· Kapiti, Coastlands Shoppingtown. Open 1pm – 5pm and will reopen at 12.30pm tomorrow.
· Karori, 11 Parkvale Road. Open 1pm – 5pm and will reopen at 1pm tomorrow.
· Wairarapa, located at various medical centres. Open standard business hours, and after-hour testing is provided at Masterton Medical Centre, 4 Colombo Road.
The Ministry reminds everyone to please remain vigilant and stick to the basics: stay home if unwell and get advice about having a test, wash hands regularly, cough and sneeze into the elbow, wear masks or face coverings on all public transport and keep track of where you’ve been – scan QR codes wherever you go and turn on Bluetooth tracing in the app dashboard.
Advice for travellers from New South Wales
Quarantine-Free Travel with New South Wales (NSW) has been paused for 72 hours initially while the source of infection of new cases announced in Sydney is investigated.
There are now 31 recent community cases of Covid-19 in New South Wales, with new cases that do not have a clear link to the cluster and are urgently being investigated by Australian health officials.
The pause will be reviewed again later today.
Anyone who has only been in Norfolk Island and not in NSW is still eligible for Quarantine Free Travel.
New Zealand health officials recently updated their advice for anyone already in New Zealand who has recently visited Sydney’s Westfield Bondi Junction mall.
NSW public health officials are continuing to add new locations of interest. Anyone who has been in Sydney since 11 June should check the NSW Health website.
Anyone at these locations of interest at the specified times should call Healthline on 0800 358 5453, get tested and self-isolate until they return a negative result.
Information about quarantine-free travel between New South Wales and New Zealand is available on the Covid-19 website: https://covid19.govt.nz/travel/quarantine-free-travel/australia/new-south-wales.
Travellers from Queensland
Queensland public health authorities on Sunday announced a new community case in an air crew worker. New Zealand health officials have determined that, at this time, the Covid-19 public health risk to New Zealand is low.
Anyone who was at Brisbane Airport at DFO outlet shop between 4pm and 4.30pm, or the Brisbane Portuguese Family Centre from 7pm onwards on Saturday 19 June must, contact Healthline, get tested and stay home until they receive a negative result.
More information can be found on the Queensland Health website: https://www.qld.gov.au/health/conditions/health-alerts/coronavirus-covid-19/current-status/contact-tracing. Any further locations of interest will also be added to this webpage.
Travellers to New Zealand from anywhere in Australia:
· Must meet eligibility criteria before travelling, depending on their circumstances this can involve not travelling for 14 days if they’ve been in a location of interest, or having a pre-departure test if an order is in place involving the State they’ve been in.
· Must complete the Nau Mai Ra travel declaration which allows contact tracers to get in touch with them if they’ve been in an affected area at the relevant time but have since travelled to New Zealand.
· Are asked two sets of questions about whether they’ve visited a location of interest. Passengers are asked on departure from Australia by their airline and on arrival in New Zealand by Customs at the eGate. If they answer yes, they are rejected by the eGate and a Customs officer sends them to a booth. They are also referred to the Health team on duty.
· Are given advice on what to do if they become symptomatic.
Testing information
The total number of tests processed by laboratories to date is 2,242,522.
On Wednesday, 6999 tests were processed.
The seven-day rolling average is 4486.
For all testing locations nationwide visit the Healthpoint website.
This testing data does not include the number of tests processed by Waikato DHB, as systems remain down as a result of the cyber attack. The Waikato data continues to be recorded manually and monitored. The data will be added to the tally once systems have been restored. The manual data shows Waikato is continuing to process around 200 tests a day since 17 May.
Wastewater testing
Wastewater testing continues to be a part of New Zealand’s testing and surveillance strategy in the fight against Covid-19.
ESR are now carrying out daily tests on samples from the Wellington region. So far, there has been nothing of concern detected.
NZ Covid Tracer
NZ Covid Tracer now has registered users 2,866,349.
Poster scans have reached 289,842,937 and users have created 11,156,283 manual diary entries.
There have been 571,514 scans in the last 24 hours to midday yesterday.
