We've noticed a few questions about why we haven't moved up Alert Levels, despite there being new cases in the community this week. Here's a quick explanation.
We moved up Alert Levels on 15 February as the new case could not be clearly linked to the border.
Contact tracers needed time to investigate the source, and to identify close and casual contacts so that they could be tested and, in some cases, isolated.
It became clear there wasn’t widespread transmission and genome sequencing showed the new community cases were all linked to the first cases identified on the weekend of 14 February. This is a lower-risk scenario so we were able to move down to Alert Level 1, where we remain.
Thank you to the Papatoetoe High School community, and individuals who were at locations of interest and who got tested and are now in isolation. We appreciate your swift actions which helps stop the spread of COVID-19.
The job is not done at Alert Level 1, we still need everyone to continue playing their part.
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For contact tracing purposes, anyone who attended one of the locations listed here during the relevant timeframes is considered to be a contact.
Out of an abundance of caution, we are asking individuals to follow the instructions below if they visited these locations during the times listed.
Following a possible exposure, the optimal timing for casual plus contacts to get a test is 5 days.
The advice below says what you need to do, including when you need to get a test.
Where the optimal time for a test is in the future, we’ll specify a date. Where the optimal time for a test has passed, we’ll specify the need for a test as soon as possible.
Mass gatherings will need to be limited to 100 people. Gatherings of up to 100 people are allowed for wedding services, funerals, and tangihanga.
Keep physical distancing of 2 metres from people you don’t know when out in public.
Keep 1 metre physical distancing in controlled environments like workplaces, where practical. Wear a mask or a face covering if physical distancing is difficult.
Testing centres across Auckland reported strong demand for testing this afternoon. All testing locations in Auckland are available on the Healthpoint website healthpoint.co.nz/covid-19/ and the Auckland Regional Public Health Service website arphs.health.nz/public-health-…
From 6am tomorrow morning, Auckland will move to Alert Level 3 and the rest of New Zealand will move to Alert Level 2. The measures will remain in place for the next seven days.
We have planned for the likelihood of further community outbreaks and have activated our national resurgence plan. We have stamped out the virus before and we can do it again.
COVID-19 UPDATE
There is one new case of COVID-19 in the South Auckland community.
The case is a family member of a student from Papatoetoe High School. That could provide a straightforward explanation for this infection, but in this case it has not
There are no new cases in the community to report today.
There is one new case of COVID-19 in managed isolation.
Auckland February cases contact tracing update
There are 3 categories of contacts related to the KFC exposure event.
KFC staff - there are 11 close plus contacts who worked at the same time as Case L. These people have all been contacted and will begin testing today, day 5 since their last contact. They will be isolating for 14 days along with their household contacts.
COVID-19 Update
There are 2 new cases of COVID-19 in managed isolation and one new community case, a person linked to the Auckland February cases and who has been in quarantine from Tuesday 23 February to report today.
The latest community case (Case L) is a household contact of cases I, J and K.
This person was tested on arrival into quarantine and returned a negative result. This individual then developed symptoms and returned a positive test.
Today, 25 February, we have three new cases of COVID-19 in managed isolation, and no new cases linked to the Auckland February cluster.
One of the three cases today in managed isolation today is a historical case and not regarded as infectious.
All 11 cases associated with the Auckland February cluster remain in the Auckland quarantine facility.
Genome testing results now available for Case K has shown it to be the B.1.1.7 variant and again very closely related to the genome sequence for Cases A and B.
This provides further reassurance that the cases from the additional household announced on Tuesday have not appeared from elsewhere in the community. All cases that have been sequenced in this cluster are genomically linked & are connected to the cases at Papatoetoe High School.