Coronavirus Covid-19: nine new cases today: five in the community and four in MIQ

Currently, there are nine new cases of Covid in New Zealand: four in MIQ and five in the community.

Three of the community cases are linked to the Mt Roskill church and the others are domestic contacts of previously confirmed cases.

28 close contacts of the Tokoroa health professional at the hospital have been identified.

And 128 people related to the community group have transferred to MIQ, including 85 who tested positive.

Eleven people are hospitalized, two of whom are in intensive care.

There are 131 active cases, of which 24 are imported cases in MIQ, and 7,219 tests were processed yesterday.

Health Minister Chris Hipkins and Acting Director of Public Health Robyn Shearer will give the daily press conference at 1:00 pm

Shearer said there was “significant pressure” on people at this time and there was mental health support if needed. She said it was “okay not to be okay”.

The number of tests being carried out “was on a good level” and yesterday’s test numbers brought the total number of tests to more than 60,000 since the start of the recent “test blitz,” Hipkins said.

He said that the policy remained to transfer people with positive results to MIQ, even though the numbers began to fall.

All the cases are still epidemiologically or genomically linked, he said.

As part of contact tracing systems, close contacts are “typically” tested twice: when they are first contacted and around day 12. He said “the vast majority” were getting tested on the second day 12.

Hipkins said the incorrect message on the Health Ministry’s website about Aucklanders south and west residents requiring testing was information that had been “lost in translation.”

He said he was certain that everyone involved in the mistake had learned from him.

Hipkins first learned of the miscommunication yesterday morning after a radio interview.

He said health officials were “grappling” with having people without symptoms tested.

He admitted that the information “could have been clearer.”

“Ultimately, the responsibility rests with the Government and I clearly take responsibility for that, as does the Prime Minister.”

Hipkins said he was not interested in “pointing the finger” or attributing blame for the incorrect information being disclosed.

He believed that there might have been some confusion surrounding being in an election period and that officials did not run all the announcements for past ministers who were fired.

He understood there was a flurry at the test sites yesterday morning after the misinformation was released, but the demand dropped after it was corrected.

Shearer said a review was underway and that they were working to improve their communications.

Chief Health Officer Dr. Ashley Bloomfield was on leave “spending time with his family,” Shearer said.

Auckland Transport had reported that 90 percent of passengers wore masks and police are handing out masks to people who don’t have them, Hipkins said.

Hipkins said the alert level system was designed to accommodate isolated groups in the community, and all new cases knew each other, so people should have confidence in coming out of the Auckland lockdown.

He said he knew it had been a “frustrating and difficult” time and thanked the Auckland people for following the rules and the businesses for being patient.

Hipkins said the “relatively minor” inconveniences of washing hands and wearing a mask were worth it if it meant not having to go back to confinement.

Hipkins said the number of QR scans per day was about 1.6 million. He said that people without smartphones should manually record their movements.

Starting Friday, QR codes will be mandatory on public transport.

There will be another update to the app soon that will allow people to store their NHI numbers and edit visits manually.

Hipkins understood parents’ anxiety about sending their children back to school, but said it was safe for them to do so. He said it was not okay to have children at home.

“Your future depends on this.”

Hipkins said he “had no problem” with the Health Select Committee reform and was happy to answer questions.

Epidemiologists and the government have warned that the Auckland group will continue to grow, but the key is whether all cases can be connected.

And it is because the Auckland cluster continues to grow that the government moved the city to what she described as level 2.5.

This is not an official alert level, but rather an enhanced version of the level 2 Auckland has already experienced.