Wednesday 1 September, 1pm
Today’s 75 new cases brings the total number of community cases to 687.
The number of new cases today is a bounce in numbers compared to declining daily case counts in the past few days. Health Director General Dr Ashley Bloomfield said it was not unexpected and reflected testing of case contacts.
32 people are in hospital, all in Auckland as the one in Wellington was discharged yesterday and is now isolating in a quarantine facility. Eight of those in hospital are in the ICU or high dependency unit. Three people are on ventilators.
Bloomfield also said the latest modelling of the outbreak's reproductive rate show cases should continue to decline and that chains of transmission are being broken.
Locations of interest
Around 40 supermarkets across Auckland have been added to the list of locations of interest. Bloomfield said the supermarkets were visited by cases before they knew they had Covid. A risk assessment of the locations and possible spread has been performed, and due to public health measures like physical distancing, plastic screens, PPE use, transmission at the locations are considered low risk.
The supermarkets, and full list of locations of interest, is available here at the Ministry of Health site.
Blomfield said those who were at the newly added supermarket locations of interest do not need to immediately get a test. Rather, watch for symptoms as a precaution.
Vaccines
Today, everyone aged 12 and over is eligible to book their vaccine.
Covid-19 response minister Chris Hipkins also gave an update on the vaccination rollout.
So far, 3.5 million doses have been administered. The amount of doses being given each week has also increased from about 190,000 to about 540,000.
Overall, more than 2 million people have had at least one dose of the vaccine - about 54 percent of the eligible population. 1.2 million people have two doses - about a third of the eligible population.
South of Auckland at level 3
Today, everywhere apart from Auckland and Northland is at level 3. There is a police checkpoint set up in Mercer, south of Auckland to ensure only essential travel is happening between lockdown boundaries and evidence of approved travel is required.
With only slight changes in restrictions between level 3 and 4, everyone is being reminded to keep your bubble as small as possible.
Face coverings should be worn whenever you leave the house. This is mandatory when visiting a business or service currently open at Alert Level 3.
Continue working or learning from home and keep children at home with you, if possible.
For contact tracing, continue scanning QR codes, making sure you have Bluetooth turned on in the app and on your phone.
Public facilities remain closed. This includes libraries, museums, cinemas, food courts, gyms, pools and markets.
Gatherings are strictly limited. Funerals/Tangihanga and wedding ceremonies are restricted to 10 people.
Click here for more info on Alert level 3 restrictions.