Coronavirus Update #24

September 25 - There are two new cases today, one in the community and one in MIQ. The community case is a household contact of the Auckland cluster bereavement subgroup. This is the first Auckland cluster case in over a week, and I was a bit surprised by it. However, the person who tested positive was already self isolating, so hopefully this is the end of the line for this particular cluster.

I’m also happy to see that there aren’t any more cases linked to the long incubator, and it sounds like they are quickly tying up loose ends around this group of cases. There’s only two people from the flight who are waiting on test results and the infected family diligently used the contact tracing app so they have a good record of where their contacts are.

September 26 - There are two new cases today, one in managed isolation and one is a historical case from the Christchurch to Auckland flight - meaning someone was infected prior to returning to New Zealand but is no longer infectious. It is wild to see the amount of detail on each of these cases, and it is very reassuring to know that things are being followed up on and handled.

There are still no new cases connected to the Christchurch to Auckland flight. 34 of the 42 close contacts of the infected family have returned negative results. The rest are self isolating and awaiting results. Hopefully it stays that way.

September 27 - There are two new cases in managed isolation today. There are no new community cases. Additionally, everyone except a small child on the Christchurch to Auckland flight has been tested and there are no new positives. (The child isn’t being tested because his/her parents were both negative.)

September 28 - No new cases today! Could this be because there weren’t a lot of tests on the first weekend of the school holidays? Yes, but it is still nice to have a day without new cases. The government is issuing strong warnings about being safe while travelling over the school holidays. I’m hopeful that there aren’t any undetected cases floating about because Kiwis love to travel, and there are a lot of cooped up Kiwis who are excitedly planning their domestic trips since international ones are off the table.

September 29 - There are two new cases in managed isolation today. None in the community. The only other big news is that a recent Australian deportee made a bed sheet ladder and climbed down four stories to make an escape. Apparently he spent eight hours walking around town before going back to the Ramada Hotel he was quarantined in. This is the first big breakout we’ve heard of since the military took a more active role in the quarantine system and it doesn’t look like they’re getting nearly a much flack as the Labor government was when the previous 12 escapes took place. I’m guessing this is because this escape has an almost cartoon-like visual to go with it. Next thing you know there will be anvil drops and a road runner involved.

September 30 - There is one new case today in managed isolation, and it is our fourth day in a row with no community cases. Assuming this downward trend continues, there is an expectation that next Monday when the government reviews Auckland’s alert level, it will move down. There is some question as to whether it will be a full Level 1 or some version of Level 1.5, but as there are 14 active community cases in the entire country, and all of the close contacts have been contacted, it seems likely that there will be some type of change. However, for someone who doesn’t go out to clubs, I can’t say that Level 2 has affected my day-to-day life much. The biggest issues are 1) parents aren’t allowed on campus to pick up kids from their classrooms. (And TBH, I’m totally fine with this as it is easier to drive through and pick them up anyway.) 2) there are a few small shops that limit the number of people who can be inside to a small enough number that it matters. In the case of the ice cream shop we visited today, the number of people allowed inside was capped at 2, so there were a lot of people waiting outside and 3) I scan the covid tracer app everywhere and now feel guilty when I forget.

October 1 - There are a whopping 12 new cases today - but all are in managed isolation. Ten of these came in on one flight from India while the other two are from the US and Phillipines. It’s now been five days since there have been any community cases. There are 1,492 confirmed cases and 53 active cases - 42 of which are in managed isolation facilities and were caught at the border. That means there are only 11 active community cases left. 28 of the 53 active cases are people between the ages of 20-40, and one person is in the hospital.

All in all this appears to be good news, but there is one bit of concerning news: covid tracer app check ins have plummeted. It appears people have become complacent, especially outside of Auckland where it is Level 1. My fingers are crossed no one accidentally transports covid with them during the school holidays.