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New Zealand’s Covid-19 cluster has grown to 21, with a strong link discovered to a case at the border, as the country began day two of a national lockdown.
On Thursday, New Zealand reported another 11 cases of the Delta variant in the community, all in Auckland.
The country's prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, also announced that children between the ages of 12-15 would now also be eligible for Covid-19 vaccines, from September 1st.
“My message to parents who will need to of course provide consent for the children, is that I would not have been a part of a process and approving this, unless I believed it was safe, because around that table, we are parents too, all affected by these decisions, so we take them very seriously,” she said.
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The first case in the cluster, a 58-year-old man from Auckland, emerged on Tuesday, prompting the government to put the entire country into a level 4 lockdown – its highest level of restrictions.
Ms Ardern said genome sequencing has linked the cluster to a returnee from Australia. A New Zealander returned from Sydney on a managed red-zone flight and tested positive for the Delta variant on August 7th before being moved to quarantine the next day. After becoming unwell, they were transferred to Middlemore hospital, on August 16th.
“This is a significant development and means now we can be fairly certain how, and when, the virus entered the country, and that based on timelines, there are minimal, possibly only one, or maybe two, missing links between this returnee and cases in our current outbreak,” Ms Ardern said.
The period in which cases were in the community is relatively short, she said, adding that it was unlikely the virus was spread at the hospital because the man was transferred there just one day prior to the first positive local case being discovered.
Ms Ardern thanked the 58-year-old man for getting tested when he did. “If it wasn’t for you getting tested when you did, this could be a much, much more difficult situation. Having said that, I know we’re all prepared for cases to get worse before they get better. There is always a pattern with these outbreaks.”
The prime minister said that, while the country would need to remain open to other possibilities, the new information gives officials the confidence to focus on how the virus was transmitted, with a particular focus on the isolation and quarantine facilities.
“Today we believe we have uncovered the piece of the puzzle we were looking for, and that means our ability to circle the virus, lock it down and stamp it out generally has greatly improved.”
New Zealand’s ministry of health has updated its list of “locations of interest” – including a nightclub that 900 people attended, a church that has a congregation from across the city, shopping malls, a university and Auckland city hospital. Anyone who has attended those locations at the stated times is advised to call a health line.
Ms Ardern warned there would be more cases, given the activity of those infected.
Encouraging sign
The country's director general of health, Dr Ashley Bloomfield, said it was encouraging that modelling now showed that the likely number of people who caught the virus before lockdown was about 50, and not 100 as previously thought.
Under level 4 lockdown, all New Zealanders other than essential workers are asked to stay home and shelter in place, leaving the house only for essentials such as food, medical supplies, medical care and socially distanced outdoor exercise. They are to remain within a "bubble" of immediate household members and dependants. The initial announcement of that lockdown was for three days nationwide, and for four to seven days for Auckland and Coromandel. It may be extended, possibly depending on how many additional cases are detected.
Health officials will be advising the government about further lockdown measures on Friday.
“Our aim of course is to have as short a possible lockdown. But it is so important in this situation that you go into lockdown arrangements quickly and you don’t lift them too early,” Dr Bloomfield said.
Anyone with symptoms is advised to self-isolate and contact medical authorities about testing. – Guardian