Auckland likely to remain at Alert Level 4 for further two weeks

August 27, 2021

Scroll down for a recap of 1 NEWS' live updates on day 10 of the nationwide Level 4 lockdown.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

- The total number of cases associated with the current outbreak is now 347 after 70 new cases were announced on Friday - all in Auckland.

- The number of locations of interest  has climbed to 504. There are locations in Auckland, the Coromandel, the central North Island and Wellington. The list is being updated every two hours.

- The country south of the Auckland boundary will move to Alert Level 3 at 11.59pm on Tuesday, August 31. Auckland and Northland, meanwhile, will remain at Alert Level 4. Auckland is likely to remain at the current settings for another two weeks, Jacinda Ardern announced on Friday.

8pm: That concludes 1 NEWS' live updates for tonight. The latest updates on New Zealand's Covid-19 situation will return tomorrow.

6.25pm: Auckland Mayor Phil Goff says lessons need to be learned from Sydney's outbreak as he reacted to news that the city was facing an extended period at Alert Level 4. 

6.20pm:  Hutt City Council’s Electoral Officer has determined that the voting period for the Central Ward by-election will be extended by a fortnight to ensure electors have every opportunity to cast a vote. This decision is in line with the provisions of the Local Electoral Act 2001.

Voting will now close at noon on Friday, September 24.

5.38pm: Police will increase their visibility to deter unnecessary travel as most of the country prepares to move to Level 3 next week, Police Commissioner Andrew Coster says.

"With the Alert Level remaining the same for the weekend, we ask New Zealanders to continue to ensure their movement away home is for essential purposes only," Coster said in a statement.

"People can expect that police will intensify our enforcement of the Level 4 restrictions, and more people will be stopped and questioned about their reason for moving away from home.

"We are already prepared for an alert level change and our planning includes a more stringent approach to non-essential movement in the current Level 4."

5.03pm: There are now 13 confirmed cases of Covid-19 at AUT. 

Of that number, four were not on campus while infectious.

A list of locations of interest specific to AUT can be found here.

4.48pm:
On a lighter note, the Prime Minister has embraced her recent internet fame at this afternoon's press conference.

Jacinda Ardern became a meme earlier this week after a picture of her holding up a heatmap of close contacts to Covid-19 cases went viral.

4.41pm: Foodstuffs has spoken out after the Commerce Commission today warned businesses not to rip off customers during the lockdown.

"To be abundantly clear we are not increasing prices during lockdown – we haven’t before and we will not now," Foodstuffs NZ head of corporate affairs, Antoinette Laird, told 1 NEWS in a statement.

"We know, now more than ever, getting great value is important to New Zealanders and we’re absolutely committed to do all we can to provide this."

Laird added that customers tend to "do a bigger shop" at the supermarket during lockdown "so it may feel they are paying more at the checkout".

"Our promotional programmes are being maintained, with the number of products on special consistent with a normal week."

4.37pm:
Meanwhile, National Party leader Judith Collins has taken aim at Jacinda Ardern over the suspension of Parliament for one week amid the Delta outbreak. 

4.25pm:  With social media awash with stories of vaccinated individuals contracting Covid-19 many are questioning the efficacy of the vaccines.

1 NEWS spoke to two Kiwi scientists who specialise in immunology about why we are seeing those vaccinated contracting Covid-19 and why it’s still important to get vaccinated. Read the full story here.

4.20pm: Auckland Mayor Phil Goff and councillors Alf Filipaina, Efeso Collins and Josephine Bartley today led a virtual fono (meeting) with Pacific leaders to discuss Covid's impact on Auckland's Pacific community; how the council could help accelerate the vaccine rollout; welfare support; and combatting racism.

"In the call, we condemned the ignorant and bigoted attacks on Pasifika communities who are the victims of the virus, not the cause," Goff said today in a statement. 

"Covid-19 can affect anyone — the virus is the problem, not people. I call on all Aucklanders to reject racism and to support each other as we respond to this crisis. I also encourage the government to prioritise vulnerable communities in their testing and vaccination efforts."

4.13pm:  The Prime Minister has played down concerns over delays in transporting families with positive Covid-19 cases to MIQ, saying more rooms are being made available.

"We have 274 rooms designated for quarantine across the country, 285 rooms available for close contacts also and we do still have available rooms and we're bringing on more than 200 as of this afternoon as well," Ardern said.

3.55pm:  Pak 'n Save is donating $100,000 in products to the New Zealand Food Network to help provide vital food assistance to those in need.

The Food Network supplies to over 75 organisations and food banks nationwide.

3.54pm: Cabinet's decision to extend Level 4 to 11.59pm on Tuesday, August 31 is "disappointing" but the announcement of a move to Level 3 next week is reassuring, the Canterbury Employers’ Chamber of Commerce says.

"Many of the businesses we have been talking to had been hoping to move down a level today, so they can either operate tomorrow or put plans in place for Monday, as we know that at Alert Level 3, 90 per cent of businesses will be able to operate and do so safely," chief executive Leeann Watson said.

"While the Government absolutely has to weigh any decision-making with the impact on public health, the reality is that ongoing lockdowns cannot be part of our long-term future."

3.42pm:  New World will be providing support for the Student Volunteer Army and the Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch City Missions to help ensure they can continue providing for families struggling during the lockdown.

The City Missions will each receive at least $40,000 in support and products, Foodstuffs said today in a statement.

3.27pm: A recap on Level 3 - businesses can open so long as they can operate safely and offer services not requiring close personal contact.

Retail can operate via click and collect, while places such as takeaways and restaurants can operate via delivery, drive-thru or contactless pick up. 

"Alert Level 3 does not permit more social activities, and bars and restaurants stay closed except for click and collect." 

Contact with others must also "stay minimised". 

3.22pm: While it isn't the first time we will see different alert levels operating in different parts of the country, it is the first time there are Level 3 and Level 4 settings in place at the same time, Ardern said. 

Ardern has issued a reminder that no regional travel is allowed across alert levels except for Level 4 workers who need to cross the boundary to go to work or has been granted an exemption.

The boundary south of Auckland will be reactivated when the North Island - barring Northland and Auckland - moves to Level 3 next week, she said. The usual checkpoints will be in place.

David Welch provides his expertise on what needs to happen for the alert levels to change.

3.12pm: The Prime Minister says Northland will remain in Level 4 alongside Auckland in order to gather further data after a case was discovered in Warkworth last night.

She says while Warkworth has been included in the Auckland boundary in the past, there are concerns around the movement of people on northbound journeys and a large workplace being named as an exposure event.

"We want to be as careful as possible and I hope the good people of Northland understand why we want to move with care given those common transit routes," she said.

"That is not to say that Northland and Auckland will continue to be treated in the same way in the long-term. That is unlikely, but we're not in a position to give an exact timeframe just yet."

3.09pm: Ardern says it is "likely, at this stage, that Auckland will remain at Level 4 for a period of a further two weeks".

3.04pm:
Cabinet has made the deicision for "all of New Zealand south of the Auckland boundary" will move to Level 3 at 11.59pm on Tuesday, August 31, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced at a press conference this afternoon.

The settings will be reviewed one week later on Monday, September 6.

Auckland and Northland will remain at Level 4. Cabinet will decide on Monday, August 30, how long the two regions will remain at the current alert level "before we review those settings again".

2.41pm: The Ministry of Health's has this afternoon added several new locations of interest, including Silverdale Clinic Pharmacy and Wholesale Meats Direct Ōtara.

The list of locations of interest remains at 504.

2.13pm:
Meanwhile, businesses have been warned against price gouging customers during the lockdown.

It comes as Consumer NZ says it’s been inundated with complaints from Kiwis about price increases at supermarkets under Alert Level 4.

Some have complained that their usual shopping bill has increased by nearly $100, while the price of essential goods has gone up by over $1 an item.

2.05pm: There are now 29,851 individual contacts who have been identified as of 8am this morning, of which around 76 per cent have had a test. Most others are not yet due a test.

2.03pm: 
Wastewater samples from 108 locations have now either been analysed or are currently in the laboratory being analysed.

There are no unexpected detections to report, the Ministry said. 

1.53pm: Despite the number of new cases, overall, the health system's capacity is good across the country, the Ministry said. Hospital occupancy is currently around 75 per cent, while ICU occupancy is at around 58 per cent.

1.51pm: Meanwhile, Amberlea Rest Home has been listed as an exposure site following confirmation that a positive case in Warkworth worked in the facility’s dementia ward.

Public health officials understand the staff member worked two shifts while unknowingly infectious, the Health Ministry said.

They are fully vaccinated and adhered to strict Infection, Prevention and Control protocol, including wearing face coverings and other PPE.

A mobile testing unit will be operating at Amberlea today and all residents and staff are being asked to get tested.

1.48pm:  There are currently six epidemiologically-linked sub-clusters identified within the outbreak, the Ministry of Health said today in a written statement.

The two largest clusters are the Birkdale Social Network cluster associated with Case A with 45 confirmed cases; and the Māngere church cluster with 146 confirmed cases. The remaining clusters have fewer than 20 people associated with them.

Of today's new cases, 44 are Pacific peoples, 11 are Asian, six are European, six are Māori, and the ethnicity of the remaining three is unknown.

Nineteen of the current community cases are in a stable condition in hospital, one of whom is in a stable condition in the ICU. Of those in hospital, two are in North Shore Hospital, eight are in Middlemore Hospital, and nine are in Auckland City Hospital.

1.43pm:  There are 70 new cases to announce in the community this afternoon. Of that number, all are in Auckland.

The total number of community cases in Auckland is now 333, while Wellington remains at 14. 

The figure is the highest total the country has seen amid the Delta outbreak thus far.

It brings the total number of cases associated with the current outbreak to 347.

12.54pm -  1 NEWS reporter Logan Church was in Algies Bay for the midday news.

He was there as a staff member at rest home CHT Amberlea contracted the virus.

They are a household contact of a confirmed case and has been isolating.

Church said staff and residents who were in close proximity to the staff member were also isolating.

Staff still on-site are wearing full PPE, but the rest home has called for more workers to come onboard from the wider CHT family to fill shortages.

They need to be fully vaccinated.

12.46pm - Epidemiologist Michael Baker wants the current mask mandate extended into Alert Level 3 and 2.

It is compulsory to wear a mask when visiting essential services at Alert Level 4.

Baker earlier told Breakfast masks will be vital when restrictions ease.

12.38pm - The number of locations of interest has climbed to 504. Pacific Advance Secondary School in Ōtāhuhu has been confirmed as an exposure site. 

Visits at Pacific Fresh Māngere, Mascot Ave Dairy Māngere, the University of Auckland's Department of Mathematics, Wholesale Meats Direct in Ōtara and Shop and Save Māngere are new. 

All of the visits were prior to the nationwide lockdown coming into place. 

11.32am - At Auckland Airport, domestic flight numbers have fallen by nearly 90 per cent, with only a handful of arrivals and departures each day under lockdown.

Today, just five domestic flights will take off from the airport, compared to 143 the same day two weeks ago. With domestic travel restricted during Alert Level 4, many aircraft are flying freight only.

But while the air is quiet, the NRHCC has vaccinated more than 10,000 people at the drive-thru vaccination centre set up at the airport's park and ride. 

10.42am - The Assembly of God church in Māngere, which has 117 cases connected to it, continues to rally its members to get tested and self-isolate through its private Facebook page.

At a testing site only for members on Thursday, more than 100 were swabbed in the space of an hour. 

9.40am - Countdown has said 12 temporary team members from AWF are coming up from Hamilton to work in its estore in Penrose, Auckland. This is because more than 2000 staff are isolating around the country.

8.51am - Today is Daffodil Day. Sadly the Cancer Society's street collection has been cancelled for the second year in a row due to Covid-19. 

The street appeal usually raises $1 million for those affected by cancer.

People can still donate by heading to the Cancer Society's dedicated website or ANZ's Digital Daffodil page , where it is donating $1 for every dollar raised.

7.51am - As detailed earlier on Breakfast, Pacific Advance Secondary School in Ōtāhuhu announced on Facebook Thursday night one of its family members had been confirmed as a Covid-19 case.

They were infectious while at the school on Tuesday, August 17.

All staff, students and visitors at the school that day are considered close contacts and must get tested and stay home until Tuesday, August 31.

7.38am - In the face of recent criticism about communication with, and involvement of, Pasifika in the current outbreak, Sio said the Government's health reforms were about addressing inequities and that he did not dispute there were gaps in the system.

He said the focus at the moment was on testing and acknowledged Pasifika health authorities and church leaders "for getting on with it". 

7.25am - Associate Health Minister Aupito William Sio said Auckland public health officials need time to do their work around recent positive cases — north Auckland rest home worker and an Auckland intermediate school student detailed earlier.

He said he was leaving new locations of interest and any other cases overnight to the prime minister.

7.21am - Baker said a "big advance" in the country's response was making mask-use mandatory in some settings. 

He was supportive of New Zealand's elimination strategy and said living with the virus would be "grim". 

This was because this would be a drain on the health system and increase inequalities.

7.16am - He said the looming questions are how the Government may split the levels in the North and South islands, how quickly the levels will drop and what the alert level system looks like in the future. 

7.14am - Epidemiologist Michael Baker told Breakfast he is "optimistic" the country will stamp out the Delta outbreak.

He said the "hard and fast" lockdown was a good tool in this, but hoped the alert levels would drop for the rest of the country soon. 

This was unlikely for Auckland.

6am - A bit of a recap of Thursday's developments: The Ministry of Health announced 68 new community Covid-19 cases. 

A retirement village in north Auckland confirmed a staff member, who is a household contact of a confirmed case and was already isolating, had contracted the virus

Auckland's Waimahia Intermediate became the latest education institution tied to the outbreak and a staff member at Countdown Westgate also tested positive.

Health authorities also announced Auckland was getting a second quarantine facility

The number of locations of interest is almost 500 and Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the virus had spread at 13 out of 400 of them. 

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