1 Mar Update

COVID-19 live updates: Latest on Auckland community outbreak – RNZ

Auckland has entered its second day of COVID-19 alert level 3 and the rest of New Zealand level 2.
The super city was placed into lockdown on Saturday night after a Papatoetoe High School student tested positive for COVID-19 along with their mother. The case had been infectious for as long as a week and hadn’t been in isolation.

There was an additional community case of COVID-19 reported on Sunday – linked to the original cluster and in Auckland’s Jet Park Hotel quarantine facility.

What you need to know:
Auckland is at COVID-19 alert level 3 and the rest of New Zealand at level 2 for seven days
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern revealed on Monday the latest cases had contact with an infected family during the last alert level 3 lockdown – information they hadn’t previously disclosed. They are UK variant cases and genomically linked to the original February Auckland cluster
One of the latest cases went to the gym after getting a COVID-19 test but before receiving the result
Road checkpoints in and out of the Auckland region have been re-established by police
The Government’s COVID-19 wage subsidy scheme has been triggered nationwide
There are several new locations of interest, which you can find here
Find out more about what alert levels 3 and 2 mean for you here.

24 Feb Update

No new community cases of Covid-19 today – Chris Hipkins – RNZ

23 Feb Update

Two siblings of latest Covid-19 case test positive – RNZ

Earlier today, the Ministry of Health said a teenager considered to be a casual-plus contact of the community cases had tested positive.

The Papatoetoe High School student had not returned to school on Monday when it reopened, Minister of Covid-19 Response Chris Hipkins said.

20 Feb Update

Vaccine rollout must be ‘positive experience’ for whānau ( Watch video)

A “moving experience” is how Turuki Health Care CEO Te Puea Winiata (Ngāti Ranginui, Ngāi Te Rangi) has described the delivery of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine ahead of today’s rollout of New Zealand’s immunisation programme.

“It was really quite a moving experience to see a cavalcade of vans coming down delivering the vaccine,” said Winiata, who heads the kaupapa Māori primary health organisation with clinics in Māngere and Panmure in Auckland.

She says Māori providers are ready to provide wrap-around services for whānau as part of the immunisation programme.

“I have to say, I work in a number of networks across South Auckland, Māori providers are poised. They’re ready to go,” Winiata, who is also co-chair of the Covid-19 immunisation implementation advisory group, told reporters at a media conference in Mt Wellington today to mark the vaccination of the first lot of MIQ workers.

Winiata said the systems are in place to provide the vaccinations, however, the challenge is to encourage Māori to get vaccinated.

“But now, we need to think about how we engage whānau. How do we make a positive experience for them?” she said.

“Because if they don’t have a good experience, that’s going to resonate with them. And where does that resonation go? It goes out into the community to other whānau.”

She said bespoke messaging was required that spoke directly to whānau and was meaningful to them. The goal she said was to enable Māori to make an “informed decision”.

19 Feb Update

There is one new community case of Covid-19 in New Zealand today, linked to the existing Auckland cases.
This person had previously returned a negative test, taken on Monday 15 February and has been isolating at home and is in the process of transferring to the Auckland quarantine facility.
There is one additional member of this household, who has returned a negative test result, but is also being transferred to the Auckland quarantine facility.
Other than the known cases which have been reported, all close contacts associated with the cases households, school and travel group to New Plymouth have returned negative results.

Of the 128 close contacts of all the cases in this cluster, 112 have tested negative and 16 test results are outstanding.

Seven of these are linked to the medical clinic in Case C and these people are considered low risk while nine of the outstanding tests relate to the workplace of someone in the second household. All are in isolation.

As at 8am today, 31 close contacts and 1,476 casual plus contacts had been identified at Papatoetoe High School; 31 school close contacts, 30 have returned negative results, with one positive result (Case D).
Papatoetoe High School will remain closed until Monday 22 February
Support is available for the Papatoetoe High School community that are affected by these measures.
All the Papatoetoe High School community are receiving daily wellbeing calls. Information and pathways to further support are available through these wellbeing calls.

CLICK HERE – Clinical immunologists explore why some are anxious about the vaccine – Te Ao with Moana

As of 11.59 pm, Sunday 14 February, Auckland has moved to Alert Level 3. The rest of Aotearoa has moved to Alert Level 2 until 12 midnight, Wednesday 17 February.

Level 3

Checkpoints will be reinstated at Auckland’s border tomorrow morning
The borders are aligned to the DHBs in Auckland and follows Counties Manukau border in the south and Waitematā border in the north.
For the first 24-hours you won’t need documentation to come to Auckland
School will be suspended for the duration of the Level 3 alert
Those with children in years 1 through to 10 will, in a small number of cases, be able to drop their children off at school if they are unable to care for them at home, such as essential workers. Schools must remain open to provide for these children. In all other cases, distance learning must be provided for students to learn at home.
Public venues such as pools and playgrounds will be closed
Supermarkets and pharmacies remain open
Alert Level 3 means staying within your household bubble