12 Aug 2021

Covid-19 update: Eight new cases in MIQ, including two from Japan

2:13 pm on 12 August 2021

There are eight new cases of Covid-19 in managed isolation, including two who arrived from Japan earlier this week, the Ministry of Health says.

Coronavirus COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, 3D illustration. Close-up view of a corona virus with surface spikes

Photo: 123rf.com

There are no cases of Covid-19 to report in the community today.

In a statement, the ministry said two of the new cases tested positive immediately after arriving on a direct flight from Japan on Monday, although the New Zealand Olympic Committee has confirmed no one from the Olympic team is positive.

The other new cases came from Malaysia, India and the United Kingdom.

There is also one historical case, the ministry said.

The number of active cases in New Zealand is 43 and the total number of confirmed cases is 2557.

The ministry said more than 2.34 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine have been given, including 1.47 million first doses and 865,000 second doses.

Nearly 130,000 Māori have received their first vaccination, with 80,000 of them also getting their second vaccination.

More than 87,000 doses have been administered to Pacific people. Of these, more than 54,000 have also received their second vaccination.

The ministry said 48,611 vaccine doses were administered yesterday - the biggest daily total to date.

This morning, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the vaccine rollout was being sped up. Vaccinations will be open to all eligible ages from 1 September] and the gap between first and second doses will be moved to six weeks instead of three.

Vaccine bookings for those aged 40+ will be open on Wednesday 18 August while 30+ will open on Wednesday 25 August.

The ministry also said today that all of the workers at the Port of Tauranga who were associated to the Rio De La Plata container ship, have now returned at least one negative test.

No signs of the virus were found in wastewater testing that was carried out in Tauranga and Mt Maunganui.

Ardern also announced today that New Zealand will begin testing self-isolation instead of MIQ for vaccinated people this year, with a new border system based on low, medium and high-risk entry paths kicking in from early 2022.

People's risk will be assessed individually depending on whether they have travelled from low risk, medium risk or high risk countries.

Get the RNZ app

for ad-free news and current affairs