NZ in trouble now.

[Bobby]

https://www.9news.com.au/national/new-z ... cb16960463


New Zealand records 11 new COVID-19 cases,
outbreak rises to 21.

By Kate Kachor • Senior Journalist
12:01pm Aug 19, 2021





A return traveller from Sydney has been identified as "patient zero" for New Zealand's Delta COVID-19 outbreak.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the individual arrived from Australia into Auckland on a managed red zone flight on August 7.
They returned a positive result for COVID-19 on August 9, with whole genome sequence testing revealing the case is connected to the New South Wales outbreak.


The infected case was moved to Middlemore Hospital in August on Monday.
New Zealand today recorded 11 new locally acquired cases of the virus, taking the outbreak to 21.
NZ Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield said 12 of the 21 new cases have been confirmed as part of the Auckland cluster.
Dr Bloomfield said a further eight new cases are under investigation.
He said five of the new cases are a family group, which he said "at first glance there is a connection to Avondale college".
He said 362 individuals who have been categorised and followed up, with well over 1000 people who will be contacted for tracing.
"We believe we have uncovered the piece of the puzzle we are looking for," Ms Ardern told a press conference today.


Possible missing links
Ms Ardern said NZ health authorities now believe there are "possibly one or maybe two missing links" as to how the virus spread in the community.
Though, she said the "balance of evidence" provides confidence to "focus our search on the missing link".
She said the focus will centre on the Crown Plaza hotel where the returned traveller stayed before being transferred to the Jet Park.
There were 208 staff at the Crowne Plaza when the individual in question was staying at the hotel. Of this number, only one worker is overdue for COVID-19 testing by less than 48 hours.
There were 200 staff working at Jet Park, with only two workers overdue for testing.
There are 407 staff members across the sites who have been compliant with NZ's vaccination order. Of this number, only four had one COVID-19 jab. All remaining were fully vaccinated.

[Bobby]

Can Jacinda stop the tide coming in?

[Aussie]

[Aussie]

FMD.......I did it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Bobby]

FMD.......I did it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That's because it's linked to somewhere else.

[Aussie]

FMD.......I did it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That's because it's linked to somewhere else.

Nah....

[Bobby]

https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zeal ... st-20.html

1 hour ago





The Government is set to decide on Friday on whether they will keep New Zealand in alert level four lockdown as the August outbreak continues to grow.

It comes as New Zealand recorded 11 new community cases of COVID-19,

with three being found in Wellington.
That takes the country's total to 31, with 19 confirmed as linked to the cluster. The remaining cases are under investigation, but there are "plausible" links in most cases.

New Zealand's cases include an Auckland City Hospital nurse, a teacher at Avondale College, a student at Auckland University of Technology (AUT), students at Lynfield College and Northcote College, and an Air New Zealand crew member.

Locations of interest have ballooned to over 130, with site in Auckland and Coromandel.

Malls, supermarkets, stores, cinemas, eateries, and bars - as well as AUT and Avondale College - are among the potential exposure sites. There are also several playgrounds and Chipmunks in New Lynn.
What you need to know:

There are 31 cases of COVID-19 in Auckland, with 28 recorded in Auckland and three in Wellington
Nineteen of the cases are part of the Auckland outbreak, with 12 under investigation. However, most have "plausible" links to the cluster.
Interviews are underway to establish how the new cases were infected and to understand their movements. The Wellington cases had recently been at an Auckland location of interest
Two of the cases are hospitalised in a stable condition
The cluster has been linked to a returnee from Sydney who arrived in Auckland on August 7. An investigation is underway to determine the missing link between the returnee and Case A
The COVID-19 vaccine is now also available to supermarket workers and 12 to 15-year-olds, who can now be booked in with their parents - or booked separately from September 1

[Bobby]

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/covid-19- ... A2CN2HW4E/


Covid 19 coronavirus Delta outbreak:
'Fortress NZ strategy crumbling' -

World reacts to latest lockdown move
23 Aug, 2021 08:37 AM





Telegraph - Poor Ardern, trapped in her arrogant zero Covid policy

In a scathing opinion piece for the Telegraph, Matthew Lesh called Ardern's move to level 4 "poetic justice".

"We now have vaccines. The ingenious jabs substantially reduce the risk of hospitalisation and death from the virus. They do not mean zero risk or, for that matter, zero cases. But they change the calculation: elimination becomes a costly strategy with very limited benefit. What's the point of lockdowns and maintaining closed borders for a virus that, with vaccines in the mix, no longer causes much harm to individual people?

"New Zealand has not come to this realisation. It has fetishised 'zero risk' for the past 17 months and show little interest in updating its strategy.

"New Zealand's zero Covid strategy has had frightening consequences. A once-welcoming nation is turning into an isolated dystopia, where liberties are taken away in a heartbeat and outsiders are shunned. Living under the constant threat of disruptive and psychologically crushing lockdowns. Being closed off to the world, with citizens' ability to travel curtailed and foreigners largely prevented from entering. So much for the open, welcoming liberal nation projected by Ardern.

Lesh claims: "Ardern has shown little serious interest in protecting her people. New Zealand has fully vaccinated just one in five of its population, the second lowest in the OECD. It even shut down vaccination centres when it entered "level 4" restrictions this week. Lockdown first, foremost and forever."
New Zealand health workers provided a record number of vaccine doses on Friday. Photo / Warren Buckland
New Zealand health workers provided a record number of vaccine doses on Friday. Photo / Warren Buckland
AP - Strictest lockdown

That's how Associated Press' Nick Perry described our latest response to an outbreak, highlighting New Zealand's vastly different approach to Covid-19 compared to most of the world.

"The move into the strictest lockdown underscored the vastly different approach New Zealand has taken to the virus than most other nations, which are attempting to suppress its spread rather than eliminate it entirely."

AP also highlighted New Zealand's slow vaccination rollout.

New Zealand has also been slower than other developed nations to inoculate its population, leaving it vulnerable to outbreaks. Only 32 per cent of people have had at least one shot and 18 per cent are fully vaccinated, they wrote three days ago.

The New York Times added that fears of a Delta outbreak here had been "heightened" by the lack of jabs administered, noting that the first case detected had not been vaccinated.
UK politician Nigel Farage - 'Ardern has lost her marbles'

UK far-right politician Nigel Farage weighed in on our lockdown on Twitter, saying "Jacinda Ardern has lost her marbles" and labelling New Zealand "the land of panic".

[Bobby]

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/300391 ... -continues



Covid-19 live: NZ grapples with largest Covid cluster yet
as level 4 lockdown continues


10:24, Aug 26 2021






6 hours ago

What you need to know / Kia mōhio mai koe:

Officials are looking at the possibility of having different alert levels in the North and South Islands, and at the possibility of having a boundary between levels within the North Island.
Alert levels will be reviewed on Friday.
All of NZ is remaining in alert level 4 until midnight Friday,
Auckland is in level 4 until at least midnight Tuesday next week.
There were 62 new community cases of Covid-19 on Wednesday-
61 in Auckland and one in Wellington.
NZ's total cluster has grown to 210 cases - the youngest case is under 1.
Around $484.4 million has already been paid out to 127,935 businesses through the wage subsidy scheme.
Scanning or signing in is becoming mandatory at cafes, busy venues and events at all alert levels.
Around 500 locations of interest have been identified in Auckland, the Coromandel, and Wellington.
Here's where you can get tested around the country and here's the latest on the vaccine roll-out.

[Bobby]

https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zea ... -grows-429

There are 82 new community cases of Covid-19,
all in Auckland.






This brings the total number of cases in the community outbreak to 429.
There are 14 cases in Wellington, and the remaining 415 are in Auckland.