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Press release: 65 community cases of COVID-19; 1 new case in isolation managed; more than 68,000 vaccines administered yesterday
October 15
There are 65 new community cases today. As of 11 a.m., 34 of those cases are linked, 10 are family contacts and 31 remain unrelated, with investigations continuing to help determine their link to the current outbreak.
Super saturday
Vaccination remains our number one protection against COVID-19. We are asking everyone in Aotearoa to get vaccinated or help someone get vaccinated on Super Saturday – our national immunization day of action, tomorrow (October 16, 2021).
There will be over 120 supplemental vaccination sites open, with many sites operating with extended hours and events and prices offered in regions.
The Covid vaccination medical line (0800 28 29 26) will also have additional staff to answer all questions related to vaccines.
A live Vaxathon will take place from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. The event will celebrate the regions with the biggest change in the number of vaccinations and will be supported by well-known Kiwis.
Visit the Covid Unit Super Saturday Page for more information.
| Case | |
| Number of new community cases | 65 |
| Number of new cases identified at the border | A |
| Location of new community cases | Auckland (65) |
| Location of community cases (total) | Auckland 1,801 (including 1,170 cured); Waikato 37 (including 2 cured); Wellington 17 (who all recovered) |
| Number of community cases (total) | 1,855 (in the current community outbreak) |
| Contagious case in the community | 30 of the 71 cases yesterday have exposure events |
| Isolated cases during the entire period when they were infectious | 41 of the 71 cases from yesterday |
| Epidemiologically related cases | 34 of the 65 current cases |
| Case to be linked epidemiologically | 31 of the 65 current cases. |
| Epidemiologically related cases (total) | 1,712 (in the current cluster) (107 unrelated to the last 14 days) |
| Sub-clusters | Given the number of unrelated cases each day, the sub-clusters are not currently being used in the active management of the outbreak in Auckland. Epidemiological links are explored during case interviews and whole genome sequencing is undertaken for all cases, but the emphasis is on case isolation and identification, testing and isolation of close contacts . |
| Hospital case | 34 (total): Côte-Nord (3); Middlemore (18); Auckland (12); Palmerston North Hospital (1) |
| Case in ICU or HDU | Six |
| Confirmed cases (total) | 4,538 since the start of the pandemic |
| Historical cases, since January 1, 2021 (total) | 169 out of 2,723 since January 1, 2021 |
| Contacts | |
| Number of active contacts managed (total): | 1973 |
| Percentage who received an outgoing call from contact tracers (to confirm testing and isolation requirements) | 85% |
| Percentage with at least one test result | 81% |
| Place of interest | |
| Places of interest (total) | 428 (as of October 15 at 10 a.m.) |
| Testing | |
| Number of tests (total) | 3,701,367 |
| Total number of tests (last 24 hours) | 27 766 |
| Tests processed in Auckland (last 24 hours) | 12 888 |
| Running average of tests (last 7 days) | 22,612 |
| Auckland test centers | 20 |
| Wastewater | |
| Wastewater detections | A second sample of wastewater taken from Te Awamutu on Wednesday tested positive for COVID-19.
COVID-19 was also detected in a composite sample taken in Wellsford on Tuesday. |
| COVID-19 vaccine update | |
| Vaccines administered to date (total) | 6,113,819; 1st doses: 3,512,376 (83%); 2sd doses: 2,601,443 (62%) |
| Vaccines administered yesterday (total) | 68,003; 1st doses: 15,121; 2sd doses: 52,882 |
| Maori | 1st doses: 361,310; 2sd doses: 236,057 |
| Peoples of the Pacific | 1st doses: 223,947; 2sd doses: 156,831 |
| Vaccines administered to Auckland residents to date (total) | 2 214 969: 1st doses: 1,256,071 (88%); 2nd dose: 958,898 (67%) |
| Vaccines administered to residents of Auckland yesterday (total) | 20,970: 1st dose: 3,571, 2nd dose: 17,399 |
| New Zealand COVID Tracker | |
| Registered users (total) | 3,299,053 |
| Poster scans (total) | 431 206 310 |
| Manual journal entries (total) | 18 276 853 |
| Posters scanned in 24 hours at noon yesterday | 2,436,412 |
New case identified at the border
| Arrival date | Of | Going through | Day / reason for positive test | Managed isolation / quarantine location |
| October 13 | Russia | United Arab Emirates | Day 0 / routine | Auckland |
Waikato update
Waikato DHB continues to conduct testing across the region, to help rule out any undetected community spread of COVID-19.
There are five community testing centers available across Waikato today, including a pop-up testing center in Te Awamutu after a second positive detection of wastewater in the zone.
Public health officials have yet to identify anyone who has returned to the area after managed isolation and quarantine and may shed the virus in the area.
For this reason, anyone in the Te Awamutu area who has symptoms of COVID-19, or whose family or household members are symptomatic, or anyone who regularly travels in and out of the area for work, is invited to get tested as soon as possible.
Anyone who has been in a place of interest at the relevant time and is now in Te Awamutu should also be tested.
The location of the test sites in and around Te Awamutu and Waikato is available on the Healthpoint website and the Waikato DHB website.
There are no new cases to report in Waikato today, with the total number of cases in the region associated with this outbreak remaining at 37. Of those cases, two (who are part of the same household) have yet to be linked to another case, with investigations into the source of their infection ongoing.
Results of whole genome sequencing from samples of these two cases reported on Wednesday (October 13) show that they are linked to other local cases and the Auckland epidemic. Hamilton residents are encouraged to continue to visit the ministry website for all places of interest.
Meanwhile, vaccination rates in Waikato remained high yesterday with 6,502 people given a dose – of these, 1,939 were first doses and 4,563 were second doses. Yesterday, approximately 3,500 swabs were also taken in the area.
Next update
Ministry updates over the weekend will be via press releases, unless there are significant developments.
Alert levels for Northland, Auckland and Waikato will be reviewed again on Monday.
At this point, the next press conference is scheduled for Monday, October 18.
