There are 163 new community cases of Covid-19 reported in New Zealand today, including four in Waikato.
Photo: NOBEASTSOFIERCE/Science Photo Library via AFP
There are also four new cases in managed isolation.
Speaking at today’s media conference, Director of Public Health Dr Caroline McElnay also confirmed another person with Covid-19 had died while isolating at home in Mt Eden. She said the man had recently been in hospital.
“St Johns attended a call this morning after an emergency call to an address in the suburb of Mount Eden and found a person deceased on arrival. The man is understood to have been recently treated in hospital.”
It is the second case of someone with Covid-19 dying at home while isolating this week.
There are 69 people in hospital with Covid-19, one being in Waikato and the rest in Auckland. Six are in intensive care.
The total number of cases in the current outbreak has now reached 4034.
The Ministry of Health said 102 of today’s cases are yet to be linked and there are 515 unlinked cases from the past 14 days.
The four new cases in Waikato are in Hamilton, Te Awamutu, Ngāruawāhia and Te Kuiti.
The Hamilton and Te Awamutu cases were known contacts and isolating prior to testing positive, while the Ngāruawāhia case has now been linked to previous cases.
Yesterday there were 139 new community cases.
There were 26,058 vaccine doses given yesterday – 6646 first doses and 19,412 second doses.
The Ministry of Health is encouraging everyone who received their first vaccination three weeks ago on Super Saturday to get their second dose this weekend, “or as soon as possible after that”.
Everyone vaccinated for the first time during Super Saturday will be getting email and text reminders to get their second shot.
More wastewater testing for Stratford
Further testing is under way after Covid-19 was detected in wastewater at Stratford.
The ministry said today the detection was not linked to any known active or recovering cases in Taranaki, which may mean there are undetected cases of Covid-19 in the community, although it is possible the wastewater detection is linked to a historical case who is continuing to shed the virus.
Additional follow-up wastewater samples will be taken throughout the region in the coming days.
“We are asking anyone with any symptoms – no matter how mild – to get tested, especially anyone who has travelled outside of the region recently.”
Vaccination rates in Taranaki are 85 percent for first doses and 68 percent for second doses.
Dr McElnay also said the ministry was shifting from a list of every location of interest to focusing on high-risk events, given the number of new and active community cases of Covid-19 in Auckland.
“These are exposures where there is likely to be close contacts of a positive case. Low-risk exposure events such as drive-throughs or supermarkets are no longer being reported as locations of interest in Auckland, because the public health risk is very low.”
She said high-risk exposure events would continue to be published by the ministry. These would include gyms and indoor sporting events.
The ministry will continue to public low exposure events in other parts of New Zealand.
The ministry also confirmed today two crewmembers of a ship docked in Auckland who had tested positive for Covid-19 did so because of historical infections.
“They were tested on Tuesday as part of a vaccination and testing programme and underwent further testing this morning which confirmed that both cases are historical. These will be added to the tally of historical cases tomorrow.”
