Holidaymakers at a Queenstown motel have been told to self-isolate and get tested immediately after a person with COVID-19 stayed at the Arthurs Point accommodation last week.
Queenstown Top 10 Holiday Park was identified as a location of interest on Tuesday morning, with three high-risk exposure events. Anyone who stayed at the accommodation on January 9, 10 and 11 is considered a close contact and is asked to self-isolate, get a test, and get a further test on day five.
Several other locations of interest have been identified in Queenstown, including the Shotover Jet - a tourist hotspot - Britz Campervan Hire, and Frankton Beach Playground. Queenstown Airport was listed as a location of interest on Saturday.
Meanwhile, a household contact of the Auckland managed isolation and quarantine worker who tested positive for the highly infectious Omicron variant on Sunday has also returned a positive result. The household member was symptomatic and already isolating. No other close contacts have tested positive so far.
What you need to know
- An Auckland MIQ worker tested positive for the highly infectious Omicron variant on Sunday
- A number of high-risk locations of interest have been identified in Auckland
- The worker is deemed to have been infectious from Monday, January 10
- Of the worker's 86 close contacts, 75 have returned negative results - one symptomatic household contact has tested positive but was already isolating
- Fourteen new community cases of COVID-19 have been recorded on Tuesday - seven in Auckland, six in Lakes and one in Wellington - as well as 30 infections at the border
- Thirty people are in hospital with COVID-19, two of whom are in the ICU
- Close to half-a-million tamariki aged five to 11 are now eligible to receive a special paediatric dose of the COVID-19 vaccine
- An Arthurs Point motel in Queenstown has been identified as a high-risk location of interest.
These live updates have now finished.
2:35pm - Here's an update from Auckland Unlimited on the Explore Explore Tāmaki Makaurau Voucher Programme, introduced post-lockdown to encourage families to explore their own backyard.
- 30,000 vouchers were released during the first allocation of vouchers on Saturday
- more than 3000 vouchers have already been used to book experiences on the Explore Tāmaki Makaurau Bookme website as of Tuesday morning
- experiences that have received strong bookings include Rainbow's End, SEA LIFE Kelly Tarlton's, ZaberriWorld, Fullers360 return ferry trip to Waiheke Island, Kawau Island Super Cruise, MOTAT, Sky Tower, Auckland Zoo, Butterfly Creek, Snowplanet, Sculptureum, Paradice Ice Skating and Treasure Island Adventure Mini Golf
- recipients will be sent reminders on January 19 and 26 to use their voucher to book an experience before it expires at 11:59pm, January 29, 2022. Voucher recipients have until April 30, 2022 to enjoy the experience they book
- any vouchers that are not used to book an experience within 14 days will be re-allocated in future draws
- a further 25,000+ Aucklanders have registered since last week
- the next wave of vouchers will be distributed on February 1
- Aucklanders can still register until February 25 for future draws at www.exploreaucklandnow.co.nz.
See media release in below email trail for background on the programme and first voucher allocation.
Please click here for images from some participating operators of eligible experiences in the programme.
2pm - Rumours circulating on social media that five children collapsed at an Auckland vaccination centre on Monday have been rejected by the Ministry of Health.
The rumours claim five children fainted at the North Shore Stadium drive-through vaccination centre and instead of calling ambulances, staff had parents take the kids to the hospital in order to not scare other families.
None of the rumours are backed up by any evidence.
"We are aware of some claims of adverse events occurring at the Eventfinda Stadium drive-through vaccination centre on the North Shore yesterday [Monday]. These are incorrect," NRHCC Clinical Director, Dr Anthony Jordan told Newshub on Tuesday.
"We can confirm there are no reports of any such events occurring."
1:45pm - Here's a summary of the latest updates on the Omicron-positive managed isolation and quarantine worker in Auckland:
- A symptomatic household contact of the worker has tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday
- The case had already been isolating when their positive result was returned
- Interviews are currently underway but at this stage, there are no exposure events associated with this case
- All other household members have returned negative tests to date
- As of Tuesday morning, 86 contacts have been identified in relation to the worker - seven household contacts and 79 close contacts
- At this stage, 75 have returned negative results and one has tested positive (the household member as aforementioned)
- Ten people who travelled on the same two buses as the worker have yet to be tested and are being followed up in person
- No other close contacts linked to this cluster have returned positive results
- The investigation into how the worker contracted the virus continues and testing of staff from the Stamford Plaza facility continues on Tuesday.
1:39pm - Here are today's regional updates from the Ministry of Health:
Today's cases
We are reporting new community cases in Auckland, Lakes and Wellington.
Regional updates
We are continuing to ask anyone in New Zealand with symptoms, no matter how mild, to get tested, even if you're vaccinated. Please stay at home until you return a negative test result.
Testing and vaccination centre locations nationwide can be found on the Healthpoint website.
Please also continue to check for any updated Locations of Interest and appropriate health advice, updated regularly at contact tracing locations of interest.
Auckland
There are seven cases to report in Auckland today.
Health and welfare providers are now supporting 894 people in the region to isolate at home, including 165 cases.
Lakes
There are six new cases to report in the Lakes DHB region today, all in the Rotorua District.
All of today's cases are linked to previously reported cases. All cases are isolating at home or in managed accommodation.
Wellington
There is one new case in the Wellington region. This is a known contact of existing Wellington cases and the new case has been in isolation.
There are no locations of interest associated with this case.
1:38pm - Here's the latest data on the COVID-19 outbreak and vaccination campaign:
COVID-19 vaccine update
Vaccines administered to date (percentage of eligible people): 3,990,408 first doses (95 pct); 3,899,343 second doses (93 pct); 35,805 third primary doses; 789,064 booster doses
Vaccines administered yesterday: 1,302 first doses; 2,468 second doses; 446 third primary doses and 36,953 booster doses.
Māori (percentage of eligible people): 508,521 first doses (89 pct); 476,586 second doses (83 pct).
Pacific Peoples (percentage of eligible people): 275,408 first doses (96 pct); 265,413 second doses (92 pct).
Vaccination rates by DHB with active cases (percentage of eligible people)
Northland DHB: First doses (89 pct); second doses (86 pct)
Auckland Metro DHBs: First doses (97 pct); second doses (95 pct)
Waikato DHB: First doses (95 pct); second doses (92 pct)
Bay of Plenty DHB: First doses (94 pct); second doses (91 pct)
Lakes DHB: First doses (93 pct); second doses (89 pct)
Hawke's Bay DHB: First doses (96 pct); second doses (93 pct)
Wairarapa DHB: First doses (96 pct); second doses (93 pct)
Capital and Coast DHB: First doses (99 pct); second doses (97 pct)
Hutt Valley DHB: First doses (97 pct); second doses (94 pct)
Canterbury DHB: First doses (99 pct); second doses (97 pct)
Hospitalisations
Cases in hospital: 30; North Shore: 7; Auckland: 13; Middlemore: 9; Tauranga: 1.
Vaccination status of current hospitalisations (Northern Region wards only): Unvaccinated or not eligible (11 cases / 39 pct); partially immunised <7 days from second dose or have only received one dose (4 case / 14 pct); fully vaccinated at least 7 days before being reported as a case (11 cases / 39 pct); unknown (2 case / 7 pct).
Average age of current hospitalisations: 51
Cases in ICU or HDU: 2; Middlemore: 1; Tauranga: 1
Cases
Seven day rolling average of community cases: 21
Seven day rolling average of border cases: 33
Number of new community cases: 14
Number of new cases identified at the border: 30
Location of new community cases: Auckland (7), Lakes (6), Wellington (1)
Number of community cases (total): 11,337 (in current community outbreak)
Cases epidemiologically linked (total): 8634
Number of active cases (total): 529 (cases identified in the past 21 days and not yet classified as recovered)
Confirmed cases (total): 14,794
Contacts
Number of active contacts being managed (total): 4,740
Percentage who has received an outbound call from contact tracers (to confirm testing and isolation requirements): 80 pct
Percentage who has returned at least one result: 78 pct
Tests
Number of tests total (last 24 hours): 11,237
Tests rolling average (last 7 days): 14,368
Auckland tests total (last 24 hours): 4916
Wastewater
No unexpected results.
NZ COVID Tracer
Poster scans in the 24 hours to midday yesterday: 2,169,530
Manual diary entries in the 24 hours to midday: 42,589
My Vaccine Pass
My vaccine pass downloads total: 4,817,429
My vaccine pass downloads (last 24 hours): 13,621.
1:37pm - Here's an update from the Ministry of Health on the roll-out of the paediatric vaccine for five to 11-year-olds:
Yesterday, on the first day they became available, 14,367 child (paediatric) vaccine first doses were administered to 5 to 11-year-olds throughout New Zealand.
More than 500 sites around New Zealand can administer the vaccine to this age group, with more coming online soon.
We want to thank children, and the caregivers who supported them, who got their first dose yesterday. We encourage everyone who is eligible to get vaccinated.
New Zealand's vaccine rollout remains our key defence against all variants of COVID-19, including Omicron. With 93 percent of the eligible population now double-dosed and the booster programme underway, New Zealanders are well protected.
Because at this early stage of the rollout the number of children being vaccinated in some of our smaller communities is relatively small, we are not initially providing breakdowns of the data by geographical region or ethnicity in order to ensure their privacy.
Some DHBs may, however, choose to provide updates on how the 5 to 11-year-old rollout is progressing in their area, subject to these privacy considerations.
The usual daily and weekly website updates will continue. We will also report separate data for 5 to 11-year-olds, including daily totals and a cumulative total.
1:36pm - The Ministry of Health has released its COVID-19 update.
A symptomatic household contact of the Auckland managed isolation and quarantine worker who tested positive for Omicron on Sunday has returned a positive result, the ministry has confirmed.
Here's the full update:
Update on the MIQ worker in Auckland
One symptomatic household contact of the MIQ Omicron case has today tested positive for COVID-19. The case was already isolating. They will be formally included in tomorrow's case numbers. Further case interviews are currently underway but, at this stage, there are no exposure events associated with this case. All other household members have returned negative tests to date.
As of this morning, a total of 86 contacts have been identified in relation to the MIQ border worker, including 7 household and 79 close contacts. At this stage, 75 have returned negative test results and one a positive result, as outlined above.
From the exposure events linked to the initial case, there are 10 people from the two bus journeys who are yet to be tested and are being followed up in person.
No other close contacts linked to this cluster have returned positive results.
The investigation into the transmission route continues and testing of staff from the Stamford Plaza facility continues today.
Our objective is to stamp out and prevent any onward transmission.
We're reiterating our call for anyone who lives in Auckland with symptoms – no matter how mild – to get a test, even if you're vaccinated and to please stay at home until you return a negative test result.
1:15pm - One new location of interest has been identified in Rotorua - the Ruck 'n Maul Sports Bar and Grill.
Anyone who was there between 1:08pm and 2:08pm on January 10 is asked to self-monitor for symptoms for 10 days after the date of exposure. If symptoms develop, get a test and stay at home until a negative result is returned.
1:07pm - New Zealand Police will be implementing a mandatory vaccination policy for all employees, contractors, volunteers, suppliers, new employees and visitors who work or enter police sites.
Vaccination rates across New Zealand Police are already high, with 96 percent of all staff having received at least one dose and 94 percent having had two doses.
Everyone covered by the new policy will be required to have their first vaccination by February 11 and their second by March 11.
Anyone visiting a police station or police site to access essential police services (e.g. front-counter services) and people brought to a station for services in relation to enforcement and operational activities (e.g. victims and witnesses) are exempt from the policy.
People held in police custody suites are also not required to be vaccinated.
The majority of police staff are already covered by the Police Vaccination Order, which came into effect on January 17 and applies to constabulary staff, authorised officers and recruits.
"Police are committed to ensuring that our staff and the people we engage with are safe and vaccination is the best defence against COVID-19 and its variations," Deputy Police Commissioner of Leadership and Capability Tania Kura said on Tuesday.
"Our frontline staff work in close proximity with Police employees and this policy will provide safety for our employees while reinforcing the safety of our frontline staff and of our communities."
The new policy was approved by the Police Executive Leadership Team on Monday and follows a consultation period with staff in December and after feedback from the Police Association and the Police Managers' Guild.
"We are committed to delivering the policing service that New Zealanders expect and deserve and to achieve this we need our staff to be vaccinated and protected against COVID-19," said Deputy Commissioner Kura.
Ahead of the February 11 deadline, we will be communicating with staff affected and encouraging those who are yet to be vaccinated to get their first dose.
12:50pm - We're standing by for the latest COVID-19 update from the Ministry of Health.
To recap, 16 new cases were recorded on Monday, as well as 42 at the border. None of the Omicron-infected MIQ worker's close contacts had tested positive, with 43 of 67 returning negative results. All seven of their household members had also returned a negative test.
12:30pm - Here's a recap of Monday's key developments as we wait for the latest data to be released by the Ministry of Health at 1pm:
- All seven household contacts of the Omicron-infected MIQ worker returned one negative test result, with further tests to be taken. Of the case's 67 close contacts identified, 43 had returned negative results.
- Thirty people were in hospital with COVID-19, two of whom were in the ICU.
- Forty-two new arrivals had tested positive for COVID-19 at the border.
- There were 16 new community cases of COVID-19 to report on Monday - seven in Auckland, six in Lakes, one in Hawke's Bay (first reported on Sunday), one in Wairarapa and one in West Coast (historical).
- The six new cases in the Lakes DHB region were all in the Rotorua District - three were linked to previously reported cases, with the remaining three still under investigation for potential links.
- The new case in South Wairarapa was a contact of previously reported cases and had already been isolating when they tested positive - as of Monday, the Greater Wellington region had 13 active cases, including five in Wellington, three in the Hutt Valley and five in Wairarapa.
12:10pm - Remember, if it's been at least four months since your second shot and you're aged 18 or over, you are now eligible to receive your booster jab.
11:50am - Pfizer's paediatric vaccine against COVID-19 has been likened by an expert to an "insurance policy", providing protection against the low risk of a child becoming severely ill with the virus.
Thousands of five to 11-year-olds have already had their jab since the roll-out began in Aotearoa on Monday.
University of Otago vaccine expert Dr Peter McIntyre said data continues to show the risk of COVID-19 for children is much lower than it is for adults, but the vaccine will prevent some children ending up in hospital.
Data from New South Wales indicates around 0.4 percent of five to 11-year-olds with COVID-19 are hospitalised - about one in 250 children. A small number will end up in intensive care.
"It's not that common, but it's the kind of thing you'd still like to prevent if you could. So you could think of it as an insurance policy. We all have car insurance, and we don't plan to have an accident, but it's really nice to have it if you do," he told RNZ.
11:30am - There are several new locations of interest as of 11am:
- Gateway Wholesale Meats, Takanini
- Shosha, Takanini
- The Warehouse, Takanini
- Kmart, Whangārei
- New World, Kaikōura.
For the relevant dates, times and public health advice, click here.
11:15am - The Director-General of Health says New Zealand is better placed to cope with an outbreak of the Omicron variant compared to "a number of other countries", despite one expert saying the exact opposite.
The highly infectious variant has yet to find a foothold in New Zealand, but officials are warning its arrival is inevitable. On Monday, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern warned it's "a case of when, not if".
Measures outlined under the Red setting of the COVID-19 Protection Framework will likely be reinstated if the variant does begin to circulate in the community, she said.
But speaking to Newstalk ZB on Tuesday, Dr Ashley Bloomfield said the country is currently well-placed to deal with an Omicron outbreak.
"We are not as vulnerable as a number of other countries because we have very high vaccination rates… and a lot of that is quite recent," he told Newstalk ZB.
"In the meantime, the teams are working very hard to keep the virus out of the country for as long as possible."
It comes a mere day after COVID-19 modeller Michael Plank told RNZ that New Zealand is not in a good position to brave an outbreak of the variant as the booster roll-out is still in early stages and vaccination among children has only just commenced.
11am - A fourth shot of a COVID-19 vaccine boosts antibodies to even higher levels than the third jab, but it's not enough to prevent Omicron infections, according to a preliminary study in Israel.
In a trial among its staff, Israel's Sheba Medical Center administered second booster shots to study the effect of the Pfizer booster in 154 people after two weeks and the Moderna booster in 120 people after one week, said Gili Regev-Yochay, director of the Infectious Diseases Unit.
These were compared to a control group that did not receive the fourth shot. Those in the Moderna group had previously received three shots of Pfizer's vaccine, the hospital said.
The vaccines led to a increase in the number of antibodies "even a little bit higher than what we had after the third dose", said Regev-Yochay.
"Yet, this is probably not enough for the Omicron," she told reporters. "We know by now that the level of antibodies needed to protect and not to got infected from Omicron is probably too high for the vaccine, even if it's a good vaccine."
The findings, which the hospital said were the first of its kind in the world, were preliminary and have not yet been published.
Israel was the fastest country to roll out initial vaccinations against COVID-19 a year ago and last month started offering a fourth shot, or a second booster, to the most vulnerable and high-risk groups.
- Reuters
10:45am - A group of parents are calling for an urgent review of Medsafe's decision to approve the Pfizer vaccine for children aged five to 11, citing a lack of "robust safety information".
As of Monday, almost half a million Kiwi kids became eligible to receive their first dose of Pfizer's paediatric vaccine - a third of the dose for adults. A course of two shots is recommended, separated by an eight-week interval, for optimum protection.
Although the paediatric dose has been approved for use by New Zealand's regulatory agency and has been given the stamp of approval by leading experts, a group of eight parents say they are concerned about the "new technology" and are questioning Medsafe's consent process.
The group is now claiming in court that the provisional consent process for the paediatric vaccine was based on a lack of "robust" information and "very small trials". In a statement issued on Tuesday morning, The 'Hood - a wider group supporting the applicants and their case - claimed some of the parents have experienced reactions to the vaccine themselves, "have children at risk", or are "simply concerned about the new technology used".
"They draw attention to Pfizer's very small trials for this age group which the New Zealand Government appears to have relied [on] in provisionally approving this vaccine, as well as the lack of robust safety information generally," the group said.
Legal action has now been launched in a bid to have Medsafe's approval rescinded and to immediately halt the roll-out until a judicial review can be held.
According to the New Zealand Herald, the eight-member group includes an electrician, two stay-at-home parents, a service assistant, a quality assurance manager, a company director, a civil engineer and an unemployed woman, all with children aged between five and 11.
10:30am - The New Zealand Resident Doctors' Association (NZRDA), which represents resident doctors in District Health Boards, is warning an outbreak of the Omicron variant could quickly overrun the country's emergency departments.
New Zealand's emergency department rosters are not adequately staffed to cover for doctors who may fall sick if the variant finds a foothold in the country, the association said on Tuesday.
"Most of the country's emergency department rosters do not have cover for sick leave, so even small numbers of doctors falling sick or needing to be isolated could create an unsafe situation," said Dr Deborah Powell, NZRDA National Secretary.
"When an emergency department doctor needs to take sick leave, short staffing means their colleagues cover their workload in addition to their own. When Omicron arrives and doctors start becoming unwell or needing to be isolated in larger numbers, that is going to leave large gaps in the country's emergency department.
"We estimate the country needs about 100 extra resident doctors employed in emergency departments to cope with increasing patient demand and provide sufficient numbers of relievers to cover gaps caused by sickness."
A recent survey of NZRDA members working in emergency departments found:
- 84 percent reported their roster had no doctors available to fill sick leave absences
- 67 percent disagreed or strongly disagreed that their ED was sufficiently staffed to cater to current patient demand, including demand from seasonal peaks
- 63 percent reported more than 10 ED patients on average waiting to be seen when they arrived to begin a night shift
- 57 percent agreed working in ED always or usually included lengthy patient wait times or ramping (patients waiting in ambulances).
"Lockdowns, vaccinations and border restrictions were supposed to buy us time to prepare the health system. Those preparations must include assigning additional doctors to the emergency department to replace doctors who fall sick," Dr Powell said.
10:20am - Several locations of interest have been identified in Queenstown, including a holiday park and campervan rental service.
The Shotover Jet and playground at Frankton Beach were also identified as potential exposure sites on Monday.
Anyone who stayed at the Queenstown Top 10 Holiday Park at Arthurs Point on January 9, 10 or 11 is asked to self-isolate and get tested immediately.
Here are the current locations of interest in Queenstown:
10:10am - Kia ora, good morning, and welcome to Newshub's live COVID-19 coverage for Tuesday, January 18.
