Thread by @covid19nz

COVID-19 Update - Today's update is lengthy, so it has been divided into two separate threads.

There is one new case in managed isolation. The case is a woman in her 30s who arrived from the Philippines on the 8th of August.

She has been in managed Isolation at the Distinction Hotel in Hamilton and tested positive around day 3 of her stay. ​

We have 13 new confirmed cases in Auckland. They are all linked to the 4 people who we reported as cases yesterday and the day before.

This brings our total number of cases to 36. 17 of these are linked to the latest community outbreak. Given that these cases are linked, we are treating them as a cluster. At this stage, we expect that there will be further cases.

There are symptomatic people in isolation and appropriate steps are being taken. We will update you once results come through.

One of the new cases is a student at Mount Albert Grammar School. This is a relative of a previously announced case in the community. Auckland Regional Public Health Service and the school have identified the close contacts of the student with COVID-19 (continued)

(continued) and these people have received a letter outlining their 14 day self-isolation period. These are the students and staff members who have been in the same classes as the student.

There will be a great deal of concern in the school community, but there is a lower risk as the student was not symptomatic while at school and has not been at school since they became sick and got tested.

Everyone at the school should watch for the symptoms of COVID-19, especially over the next 14 days. These can include one or more of the following: ​ New or worsening cough, sore throat, runny nose, fever, temporary loss of smell and difficulty breathing.

Three of the people who have tested positive are employees of Americold, the workplace of one of the previously reported cases. Another 7 cases are families of these employees. 2 Americold Sites in Mt Wellington and Auckland Airport have been closed.

A mobile testing unit went to the Airport site and all the staff who work there have now been tested. The mobile testing went to the homes of symptomatic people who work in the Mount Wellington site yesterday. Further testing is underway who work on different shifts.

Another person who has tested positive is an employee of Finance Now. This is the workplace of the first case we reported. This person has been admitted to the North Shore Hospital overnight and has now been discharged.

Another family member of the Finance Now employee has also tested positive.

We still have one probable case of COVID-19 in the community which is also linked to the recent outbreak.

As part of our national response to this new outbreak, the Director General of Health has directed that all confirmed cases are to be managed at a quarantine facility.

This is different to how positive cases were managed the last time we were at levels 4 and 3, and shows how serious we are about limiting risks of ongoing community transmission. This will apply to current cases and also close family members who might be at risk.

These facilities have been set up specifically and have excellent resources in place to look after people with COVID-19, including Health staff at all times.

Yesterday our laboratories processed 6,006 tests. That brings the total number of tests processed is 508,711. The total number of swabs collected yesterday was well over 10,000.

Demand has been high at our community based testing centres. While we have an increasing number of pop up testing sites around Auckland, please remember that anyone can also get a test from GPs across the country. This is also free.

There will be a further 2 pop up testing sites open today, so the total number of testing centres in Auckland is now 15. ​

The Vaughn Road centre in Rotorua and the Miro street centre in Taupo have extended their hours. They are now open 9 am-4 pm 7 days a week.

Lakes DHB are setting up a testing centre in Turangi opposite the police station today and Friday, and a further Rotorua testing centre in Vaughn street west international stadium will be open today and through the weekend.

We are aware that one of the people who has tested positive visited an aged residential care facility in the Waikato. The public health unit staff and facility staff were planning last night about what they needed to do in response.

As soon as the residents and families are notified, we will name this facility. The person was asymptomatic when they visited the facility, but they developed symptoms the day after. The visit was to a family member resident.

Today the DHB are arranging testing for all staff members and residents in the unit. ​

All aged residential care facilities in the country are closed.

An update on the family’s visit to Rotorua​
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Testing is available to any staff of businesses that the family visited during that time.
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From what we know so far, the family checked into the Wai Ora Lakeside hotel at 3:30 pm on the 8th of August.

They visited the Herbs and Spice Thai restaurant at 8pm that evening. The following day, they visited Pak N Save in Amohau street in Rotorua around 2:30 pm, before heading to the Heritage farm and art gallery at 3:30 pm the same day.

At 4 pm, they headed to the Skyline Gondola and Luge. The following morning, 10 Aug, they visited Sail Barbary eco-sailing in Taupo at 10:30. We understand they took a Boat trip, and all the people on the boat have been identified and contacted.

[Please refer to second thread]