Covid Watch

A Hamilton community service expected to pick up 500 kg's of unwanted food yesterday from the likes of restaurants and cafes to redistribute.  
It ended up collecting two tonnes, which has been redirected to feed crisis centres throughout the city. 
It's called Kaivolution and started up just before last lockdown. 
Manager Jo Wrigley told Kate Hawkesby Delta has made their job even tougher than previously. 
“There’s an awareness about how contagious or how easily transmittable it is, so trying to keep that distance while doing the thing.” 
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Auckland supermarkets are running low on staff as more head into isolation.
Stores are operating on reduced hours with skeleton staff, or even having to close as a result.
Foodstuffs North Island boss Chris Quin says no stores under his chain have had to close yet.
But he says the outbreak is still having an impact.
"We've got about 130 in self-isolation at this point. As each store that is a location of interest gets communicated to us, the guys are doing a great job of going immediately to knowing who was involved."
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The pressure is piling on nurses as they deal with our current Covid-19 outbreak.
North Shore Hospital has partially closed after a person treated there has now tested positive with Covid.
About 120 staff may have been exposed and 30 had direct contact with the patient.
Auckland vaccination centre staff are also being diverted to testing sites to help with demand.
Nurses Organisation president Kerri Nuku told Heather du Plessis-Allan it's pretty chaotic.
“The lines to get tested is extremely long, and the patience of the community is wearing thin, and it puts a lot of pressure on those people on the frontlines that are doing the very best that they can.”
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There are 11 new cases of Covid-19 in the community, including three in Wellington.
It brings our total to 31.
The Ministry of Health says the three in Wellington had recently travelled to Auckland and visited a location of interest there.
Nineteen cases are now confirmed as part of the Auckland outbreak, with the remaining 12 under investigation to confirm the linkage to the outbreak.
Newstalk ZB Political Editor Barry Soper joined Simon Barnett & James Daniels to discuss the latest news.
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Parts of Auckland's North Shore Hospital have been closed -- following confirmation of New Zealand's latest community case. 
A young man had been treated there earlier this week, before the lockdown was announced. 
He's since been admitted to Waitakere Hospital, and tested positive. 
Associate Health Minister and infectious diseases expert Ayesha Verrall told Mike Hosking immediate action is being taken, including deep cleaning of the areas he was in. 
"It's still to be established if he was infectious at that time, but as a precaution, the staff and patients at North Shore are being tested and North Shore Hospital is currently closed to new admissions." 
The new case means New Zealand now has 22 community cases of Covid-19. 
Verrall says that number is likely to rise, before Cabinet meets this afternoon to decide on whether to extend the lockdown. 
"At this stage of an outbreak I think it's highly likely that we will see more cases today." 
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Cabinet’s agreed to make the Pfizer jab available to everyone aged 12 years old and over.
The Prime Minister says they’ll be able to book with other young people from next month.
Medsafe granted provisional approval for the move in June.
From tomorrow – parents and caregivers who are already eligible - can book their children in at the same time.
Ardern says an estimated 265 thousand people are in the expanded 12-15 year old age bracket.
Dr Bryan Betty Medical Director of the Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners joined Simon Barnett & James Daniels to discuss how to get the needle into as many arms as possible.
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Ashley Bloomfield says our Covid Delta outbreak has grown to a total of 21 in the community - with 11 more today.
Two people are in hospital with covid - one in their 20s and one in their 40s ... and are stable
All other cases are being put in quarantine, or are there already.
Eight cases are being investigated and aren't formally linked, but likely are part of the cluster.
Three new cases in MIQ have meant people in their cohort need to stay in longer.
An Air New Zealand staff member with Covid is considered a border case, and not linked.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says contact tracing has showed the cases came into our community, from the New South Wales outbreak'
Sequencing shows our current cases are strongly linked to a person who flew here from Sydney on August 7, who went into MIQ, then quarantine - and was transferred to Middlemore Hospital when they fell sick.
It's likely the virus arrived on August 7, and was therefore likely in the community for a relatively short time - on the balance of evidence.
Staff at the Crowne Plaza, and Jet Park and transporters of returnees and MIQ clients are being investigated.
Only one Crowne Plaza staffer was slightly behind on testing, and two at Jet Park.
Middlemore Hospital is not considered a likely source of the outbreak.
Covid -19 modeller Professor Shaun Hendy joined Simon Barnett and James Daniels to unpack today's news.
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Simon Barnett and James Daniels get Michael Baker to answer some questions from their listeners about Covid:19 and the Delta variant.
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Barry Soper calls out Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern for not being willing to front up on The Mike Hosking Breakfast today after she cancelled her regular spot on the show earlier this year. Ardern did appear on competing brand The AM show this morning.
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A Covid-19 community case in Auckland has been announced by The Ministry of Health this afternoon.
Speaking to Simon Barnett and James Daniels on NewstalkZB, Barry Soper said cabinet will likely relay a decision on a lockdown to the public between 5 and 6pm.
A source Soper spoke to has told him that the case is unvaccinated and often travels between Auckland and the Coromandel.
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