Ministry of Health update
February 20, 2021
Today we are reporting 2 cases of Covid-19 in managed isolation.
There are no new cases in the community, nor any linked to the Auckland February cluster.
Auckland February cases contact tracing update
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.
Contact tracing has identified a total of 128 close contacts associated with all cases in this cluster, aside from the positive cases which have previously been reported. Of these, 120 of the close contacts have returned a negative test result. We are awaiting test results for eight people. Seven of these people are from the medical clinic and relate to Case C, which is considered a low risk exposure event, and one is a workplace contact of Case E.
As at 8am today, a total of 31 close contacts and 1423 casual plus contacts have been identified at Papatoetoe High School. The number of casual plus contacts has decreased as these people were not at school at the time of exposure.
Of the casual plus contacts (that is other students and staff at the school), 1,396 have returned negative results, there is one positive (Case E), and 26 results are still to come.
We do remind all students and staff at the school to please stay home and have a test if they haven’t already. School is expected to return on Monday 22 February. Close contacts at the school will not be able to return until they have been advised by public health that they can.
As part of our source investigation, LSG Sky Chef staff have also been tested.
All nine contacts in the laundry have returned negative results. Of the 444 people in the wider working environment, 387 are negative and 56 results are still to come (1 positive, Case B).
For the latest information on locations of interest, and to understand if you are a casual or close contact, please see Contact tracing locations of interest.
Testing centres
There are 9 community testing centres available for testing across Auckland this weekend– they are in Takanini, Wiri, Otara, Botany, Balmoral, New Lynn, Henderson and Northcote, as well as the dedicated testing site at Papatoetoe High School.
The pop-up testing centre at the school is open over the weekend and nearby community testing centres are operating extended hours to ensure the school community has convenient access to testing. A Covid-19 test is free wherever you go.
For up-to-date information on testing locations in metro Auckland, visit the ARPHS website.
For up-to-date info on all testing locations nationwide, visit the Healthpoint website.
Wastewater
Further results from ESR’s wastewater testing have been received and results have found no evidence of Covid-19 in wastewater.
Samples taken on February 18 at four Auckland sites including a site near Papatoetoe and at sites in Christchurch and Hamilton have all returned negative results.
Staying safe this weekend
Aucklanders can keep enjoying their summer if everyone continues with the simple health behaviours that’ll protect your families and others and keep the virus in check:
· Stay home if you’re feeling unwell and get advice about a Covid-19 test
· Wash your hands
· Scan QR codes
· Turn on Bluetooth tracing on the NZ Covid Tracer app
· Wear a face covering on public transport and on domestic flights.
You are also encouraged to wear face coverings in situations where physical distancing is not possible, like in shops.
Businesses also have an important role to play:
· Put up plenty of QR code posters in your shop/café/restaurant/bar
· Invite your customers to scan in as they go in
· Encourage everyone to wash or sanitise their hands
New border case details
| Arrival date | From | Via | Positive test day/reason | Managed isolation/quarantine location |
| 18 February | United Arab Emirates | Day 0 / routine | Auckland | |
| 18 February | United Arab Emirates | Day 0 / routine | Auckland |
· Both these people arrived in the same travel bubble from the United Arab Emirates.
One previously reported case has recovered. The total number of active cases in New Zealand is 51. Our total number of confirmed cases is 1994.
The total number of tests processed by laboratories to date is 1,651,035.
On Friday, 10,347 tests were processed. The seven-day rolling average up to yesterday is 9651 tests processed.
Historical cases
Since January 1, there have now been 30 historical cases, out of a total of 184 cases.
NZ Covid Tracer
It is really encouraging to see that people are continuing to scan.
A total of 1,847,877 scans were recorded for the 24 hours to 1pm this Friday, with an average of 1,396,010 scans made each day this week.
NZ Covid Tracer now has 2,664,459 registered users.
All time poster scans have reached 188,044,780 and users have created 7,631,825 manual diary entries.
Please keep up the good work and continue to use the Covid Tracer app to keep track of where you’ve been. Please also continue to scan QR codes wherever you go and turn on Bluetooth tracing in the app dashboard if you haven’t already done so.
