Covid-19: 172 new cases in NZ, 3 in Tauranga

One ward has been closed to visitors and new patients and 3 staff members stood down as a precaution following a positive Covid case presenting at Tauranga Hospital emergency department on Friday night. Photo: SunLive.

A ward has been closed and staff stood down following the appearance of a postive Covid-19 case at Tauranga Hospital's emergency department on Friday night.

Public health officials deem the risk from Friday night's hospital exposure to be low but are carrying out further evaluations.

"One ward has been closed to both visitors and new patients out of an abundance of caution. Three staff members have been stood down as a precaution," says a Ministry of Health spokesperson.

The person tested positive after arriving at the hospital, and their case will be added to the ministry's official figures on Sunday.

The Bay of Plenty has three new cases of Covid-19 reported today.

Two of the new Bay of Plenty cases are in Tauranga and one is Mount Maunganui which is connected to an existing case. The two Tauranga cases are in the same household and investigations into the source of their infection are underway.

Everyone who lives in or has travelled to the region is asked to monitor locations of interest regularly and follow any advice given. Anyone with COVID-19 related symptoms is asked to get tested as soon as possible – even if the symptoms are mild.

Testing locations can be found on the Healthpoint website.

In the Bay of Plenty DHB region, 87 per cent of eligible people have received their first dose and 77 per cent have been double dosed with the Pfizer vaccine. In the Lakes DHB region, 86 per cent have received their first dose, and 75 per cent have been double dosed.

There are 172 new cases being reported in New Zealand today. Seventy people are in hospital with five in ICU. There are 83 per cent of eligible New Zealanders who have been double dosed with the Pfizer vaccine.

Lakes
There are four new cases in Lakes DHB being reported today.

Two of the new cases are connected to the Taupo cluster, one of which is in Rotorua Hospital. There are also two new cases in Rotorua. One is linked to an existing case and investigations into the other case are ongoing but potential links have already been identified.

Waikato update
There were 12 new cases being reported in Waikato today.

Across the Waikato there are eight pop-up and dedicated testing centres operating today at Hamilton, Ôtorohanga, Huntly, Ngâruawâhia, Thames, and Te Kuiti.

Testing will be available at South Waikato Pacific Islands Community Services Trust, 1 Maraetai Lane, in Tokoroa from 4 – 7pm today. Further testing from tomorrow will be announced on the Waikato DHB website.

Yesterday, there were around 2,400 tests processed across the region.

In Waikato, public health staff are supporting 135 cases to isolate at home.

There were 22,608 vaccine doses administered yesterday, made up of 6,833 first doses and 15,775 second doses. To date, 91 per cent of New Zealanders have had their first dose and 83 per cent are fully vaccinated.

'The continued spread of COVID-19 to regions throughout New Zealand is a reminder that everyone needs to heed the advice that will help keep our communities as safe as possible,” says a Ministry of Health spokesperson.

'That includes ensuring you and your loved ones are fully vaccinated if eligible, that you wear a mask, keep a safe distance from people outside your bubble, and keep track of your movements outside your home.”

COVID-19 vaccine update

Total first and second vaccines administered to date (percentage of eligible people)

7,319,858: 3,832,898 first doses (91%); 3,486,960 second doses (83%)

Total first and second vaccines administered yesterday

22,608: 6,833 first doses; 15,775 second doses

Mâori (percentage of eligible people)

812,233: 449,676 first doses (79%); 362,557 second doses (63%)

Pacific Peoples (percentage of eligible people)

478,385: 255,278 first doses (89%); 223,107 second doses (78%)

Total first and second vaccines administered to Auckland residents yesterday

5,424: 1,433 first doses; 3,991 second doses

Vaccination rates by DHB (with active cases)

Northland DHB (percentage of eligible people)

First doses (84%); second doses (73%)

Auckland metro DHBs (percentage of eligible people)

First doses (93%); second doses (87%)

Waikato DHB (percentage of eligible people)

First doses (90%); second doses (81%)

Bay of Plenty DHB (percentage of eligible people)

First doses (87%); second doses (77%)

Lakes DHB (percentage of eligible people)

First doses (86%); second doses (75%)

Taranaki DHB (percentage of eligible people)

First doses (88%); second doses (78%)

MidCentral DHB (percentage of eligible people)

First doses (90%); second doses (81%)

Wairarapa DHB (percentage of eligible people)

First doses (91%); second doses (80%)

Capital and Coast DHB (percentage of eligible people)

First doses (94%); second doses (88%)

Canterbury DHB (percentage of eligible people)

First doses (94%); second doses (84%)

Hospitalisations

Cases in hospital*

70 (including four still being assessed): North Shore (20); Middlemore (18); Auckland (30); Whangarei (1); Waikato (1) – a decrease of six hospitalisations on yesterday.

Vaccination status of current hospitalisations (Northern Region wards only as of 20 November)

Unvaccinated or not eligible (34 cases / 52%); partially vaccinated14 days (8 cases / 12%); fully vaccinated 14 days (12 cases / 18%); unknown (1 case / 2%)

Average age of current hospitalisations

50

Cases in ICU or HDU

Five

Cases**

Seven day rolling average of community cases

190

Number of new community cases

172

Number of new cases identified at the border

Two

Location of new community cases

Auckland (148), Waikato (12), Northland (4), Bay of Plenty (3) Lakes (4), Wellington (1)

Location of community cases (total)

Auckland 6,246 (2,158 of whom have recovered); Waikato 325 (98 of whom have recovered); Wellington 18 (17 of whom have recovered); Northland 62 (28 of whom have recovered); Nelson/Marlborough 1 (recovered); Canterbury 6 (3 of whom have recovered); Taranaki 6; Lakes 21; MidCentral 3; Bay of Plenty 10; Wairarapa 3

Number of community cases (total)***

6,701 (in current community outbreak)

Confirmed cases (total)

9,461

Historical cases****

196 out of 7,649 cases since 1 January

Cases infectious in the community

50 of yesterday's cases reported have exposure events

Cases in isolation throughout the period they were infectious

107 of yesterday's reported cases have no exposure events

Cases epidemiologically linked

75 of today's 172 new cases

Cases to be epidemiologically linked

97 of today's 172 new cases

Cases epidemiologically linked (total)

5,128 (833 unlinked in the last 14 days)

Contacts

Number of active contacts being managed (total):

5,813

Percentage who have received an outbound call from contact tracers (to confirm testing and isolation requirements)

69%

Percentage who have returned at least one result

50%

Locations of interest

Locations of interest (total)

96 (as at 10am, 20 November)

Tests

Number of tests (total)

4,634,869

Number of tests total (last 24 hours)

33,663

Tests processed in Auckland (last 24 hours)

11,332

Tests rolling average (last 7 days)

29,188

Testing centres in Auckland

16

Wastewater

Wastewater detections

  1. unexpected detections to report.

NZ COVID Tracer

Registered users (total)

3,384,618

Poster scans (total)

518,668,640

Manual diary entries (total)

20,431,814

Poster scans in 24 hours to midday yesterday

2,941,946

*The number of cases here may sometimes differ from the total reported due to a difference in reporting timeframes and reclassifications.

***Three community cases have been reclassified; two as ‘under investigation' and one deemed not a case, so the net increase of cases today is 171.

****One previously reported border case has now been deemed historical.

New case identified at the border

Arrival date

From

Via

Positive test day/reason

Managed isolation/quarantine location

13 November

Australia

Direct flight

Day 5 / routine

Auckland

16 November

United Arab Emirates

Malaysia

Day 3 / routine

Auckland

My Vaccine Pass
As of mid-morning today, about 900,000 people had successfully downloaded their My Vaccine Pass.

The system is operating smoothly, and capacity has been increased, so we encourage people to go to MyCovidRecord.health.nz to book their My Vaccine Pass to be ready for summer.

**Today's cases
Today we are reporting new cases in Auckland, Wellington, Bay of Plenty, Lakes DHB, Waikato, and Northland.

Due to our usual cut-off period, a case announced yesterday in Wellington is officially added to today's case tally.

Information on the new cases is included in the regional updates below.

Auckland update
There are 148 new cases being reported in Auckland today.

There are 16 community testing centres available for testing across Auckland today. The Pukekohe community testing centre is open until 5.30pm over the weekend. Northcote, Balmoral and Wiri testing centres continue to operate extended hours.

For up-to-date information on testing locations in Auckland, visit the Auckland Regional Public Health Service website. Testing is also available at GP and Urgent Care clinics, the locations of these can be found on the Healthpoint website.

Public health staff are now supporting 5,430 people to safely isolate at home, which includes 2,459 cases. 

Edmonton Meadows Care Home update
Twenty-one residents and five staff members of Edmonton Meadows Care Home in Henderson have now returned positive tests since the start of the outbreak. Three of the residents who tested positive for COVID-19 are receiving ward-level care at Auckland hospitals.

Wellington Region update
A case announced yesterday in Wellington is today being confirmed, following a repeat swab returning a second positive result.

The initial weak result, combined with the follow-up test, indicates the case is in the early stages of infection. They are self-isolating.

The case is a user of the COVID-19 tracer app, which will assist with contact tracing and identifying any locations of interest. So far, one location of interest has been identified – Countdown Cable Car Lane in Wellington Central – and has been added to the Ministry's website. As investigations continue, more locations of interest may be confirmed by public health staff.

The positive result was picked up as part of routine surveillance testing in Wellington, for an essential worker from Auckland working in the city. Investigations have identified a small number of close contacts, including the case's co-workers, who are currently isolating and being tested. So far, all results from this testing have come back negative.

'We urge anyone in the Wellington region with COVID-19-related symptoms – no matter how mild – to get tested, even if they are vaccinated,” says a Ministry of Health spokesperson.

People are also encouraged to monitor the Ministry's locations of interest webpage, which is updated regularly.

'We are also calling for people to take advantage of the weekend to get vaccinated, with many sites available across the region.”

COVID-19 testing and vaccination site locations are available on the Healthpoint website.

Northland update
There are four new cases being reported for Northland today. One is in Kaitaia, one is in Ruakaka and one is in Dargaville. All three of these people are close contacts of existing cases and were already in isolation.

The fourth case resides in Auckland where they are isolating.

Yesterday across the region, there were 985 swabs taken and 903 vaccinations given.

Testing and vaccination clinics open today can be found on the Northland DHB website.

Testing, vaccinations this weekend
We continue to urge anyone in New Zealand with COVID-19-related symptoms – no matter how mild – to get tested, even if they are vaccinated.

We also encourage people to take advantage of the weekend to get vaccinated, with many sites available nationwide.

COVID-19 testing and vaccination site locations are available on the Healthpoint website.

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