22 Oct 2021

Covid-19 update: 129 new cases in the community

1:29 pm on 22 October 2021

There are 129 new cases of Covid-19 in the community today, after hitting triple digits for the first time yesterday.

Biology and science. Covid-19. Microscopic close-up of the covid-19 virus. Coronavirus illness spreading in body cell. Global pandemic disease. 3D Render.

File image. Photo: 123rf.com

In a statement, the Health Ministry said 65 of the new cases were still to be linked to earlier cases.

Nine of today's new cases are in Waikato, with the rest in Auckland. All of the Waikato cases are linked. There have now been 73 cases in the district linked to the current outbreak.

There were also five new cases in managed isolation.

A total of 102 community cases was reported yesterday.

There are 51 people in hospital with Covid-19, including five in intensive care.

The ministry said there have now been 2389 cases in the current outbreak, and 5090 in New Zealand since the pandemic began.

There were 41,294 vaccine doses given yesterday - 10,066 first doses and 31,228 doses.

Earlier today, the government announced details of its Covid-19 Protection Framework, involving the roll-out of a 'traffic-light' system once all DHBs hit 90 percent full vaccination rates.

No further locations of interest in Hawkes Bay and no positive detections for Covid-19 in the most recent wastewater testing. Further testing will be conducted next week.

There were no further locations of interest in the area, other than the Kmart Napier that had already been reported.

The Ministry of Health also reiterated its call for people in the Auckland suburb of Redvale to get tested.

It said that the suburb, which was the site of a party during alert level 3, has an ongoing high chance - or "high positivity rate" - of some infection.

"We are asking Redvale residents with symptoms, no matter how mild, to get tested as soon as possible, even if they are vaccinated. We are also encouraging testing in New Lynn and the North Shore suburbs of Rosedale and Bayswater."

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