Passengers who took a flight from Auckland to Christchurch on Saturday, November 13 are being urged to get tested for Covid.
There are 194 community cases of the virus to report in New Zealand today, with new cases also in Northland (3), Auckland (180), Waikato (5) and Lakes/Taupo (6).
Director-general of health Dr Ashley Bloomfield said this afternoon the Christchurch case had flown to Auckland for a tangi and was fully vaccinated.
The Ministry of Health said in a statement that the person returned to Christchurch on flight NZ 1295 on November 13 and interviews have determined a clear link to the Auckland cluster of the current Delta outbreak.
The person, who lives with five others, became symptomatic on Sunday and went for a test on Monday. The household is isolating and will be tested.
"We've had this before in Christchurch and been able to with early intervention, with testing and contract tracing, just isolate that get and around it."
Passengers on flight NZ1295 are advised to monitor for symptoms for the next 10 days and get a test today.
Additional capacity has been added to current community testing centres in Orchard Rd and Pages Rd in Christchurch - both are open seven days a week.
People can check if their GP can provide Covid-19 testing by calling them or via the Healthpoint website. There is plenty of capacity at all vaccination clinics in Canterbury.
The Drive Through Vaccination Clinic in Addington is open until 7.30pm every weeknight, and there is a pop-up vaccination event in the car park at New World in Ferry Rd Thursday and Friday this week from midday until 6.30pm.
This case will be officially added to Ministry case numbers tomorrow.
Man dies at North Shore hospital
The Ministry also confirmed the death of a man in his 60s. He was admitted to hospital on November 4 with Covid symptoms and subsequently tested positive. He died yesterday.
There are 88 people in hospital today, including seven in ICU.
There were also two Covid cases at the border - one from England and the other from the Netherlands. They are in a managed isolation and quarantine facility in Auckland.
There are now 6167 community cases in the current Delta outbreak and a total of 8923 cases since the pandemic began in March last year.
There were 21,031 first and second vaccine doses administered yesterday, made up of 6664 first doses and 14,367 second doses.
To date, of New Zealanders aged over 12 years, 91 percent have had their first dose and 82 percent are fully vaccinated.
The latest figures come as Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced this afternoon that all of New Zealand is expected to move to the traffic light system soon after November 29, with the Auckland boundary opening up to vaccinated or tested people from December 15.
Earlier today, the system that allows fully vaccinated people to request their vaccine pass or certificate went live.
Wastewater
Covid-19 has been detected in wastewater samples collected in Tauranga and Mount Maunganui on November 15, following positive detections from samples collected on November 10 and 11.
The virus has also been detected in samples collected in Taupô on November 13 and 15 and in Tûrangi on November 15.
A sample collected in Masterton on November 15 was negative.
Anyone in these areas who has symptoms - no matter how mild - is encouraged to get tested, even if they are vaccinated.
Regional updates
Northland
There are four new cases in Northland today; one in Kaitaia, two in Dargaville, and one unlinked case in Whangârei who will be interviewed today, the Ministry of Health said.
One person remains in Whangârei Hospital in a stable condition.
There were 902 swabs taken throughout the region yesterday and 1041 people vaccinated.
Auckland
There are 180 new community cases to report in Auckland today.
There are 18 community centres available for testing across Auckland today. The testing centres at Northcote, Balmoral, Wiri and Ôtara continue to operate extended hours to increase access to testing.
People in Auckland with symptoms, no matter how mild, are urged to get tested - even if they are vaccinated - and remain isolated until they return a negative result.
Public health staff are supporting 4735 people to isolate at home around Auckland - this includes 2119 cases.
Meanwhile, another resident from Rosaria Rest Home in Avondale has tested positive, bringing the number of cases there to five.
Waikato
There are five new cases to report in Waikato - two from Ôtorohanga, one from Te Kuiti, one from Huntly and one from Cambridge.
Of the cases, three are known contacts of previous cases. Investigations into the remaining two cases are under way.
There are four cases receiving care at Waikato Hospital.
Across the Waikato there are seven pop-up and dedicated testing centres operating today at Hamilton, Ôtorohanga, Huntly, Ngâruawâhia, and Te Kuiti.
There were 2456 tests processed in Waikato yesterday and 2284 vaccinations given.
In the Waikato region, public health staff are supporting 335 people to isolate at home, including 91 cases and 244 contacts.
Lakes
There are seven new cases in the Lakes region.
Six of the cases are in Taupo and can be linked to known cases in the area. One case is in Turangi and is also linked to known cases in Taupo.
Interviews are continuing to determine their movements and any locations of interest will be added to the Ministry’s website.
Anyone with Covid-19 related symptoms in the region, is encouraged to get tested - even if the symptoms are mild.
Testing is available today in Rotorua and Taupô.
A pop-up testing site has opened in Turangi today. The pop-up testing site and vaccination site will be open until 4pm daily at the Turangi Community Health Centre carpark.
Yesterday, there were 831 first and second doses of vaccine administered across the region.
- ODT Online
