Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Director General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield, provided an update on Covid-19 in the community.

There are 19 new cases in the community, 18 in Auckland and 1 in Upper Hauraki. 

Bloomfield said they were expecting another 30 cases in the coming days from already identified contacts. 

The case in Upper Hauraki has been in isolation and is a student at Mangatangi School. The student at school was tested at day 11. The student was one of 98 to get day 12 tests. 96 negative results returned. The one outstanding case would be done today.

Ardern has ruled out removing the boundary around Auckland, even if Auckland moves down to level two. Ardern said consideration was still being given to whether that alert level would change, and that decision would be made on Monday. However, she said she wanted to provide some certainty that the boundary restrictions would remain in place, even if that happened.

Ardern said 'control is key’. Not enough people were vaccinated to withstand an outbreak. ‘We need every everyone to be double vaccinated’ she said. Only 3% in the current outbreak were fully vaccinated. It is possible to hit 90% and we need everybody to put that effort in, she said. Bloomfield said they are looking at more combined testing/vaccination clinics.

A case at the Naumi hotel is being investigated to determine if linked to the community outbreak or not. The worker's positive test was picked up during routine testing. The worker was vaccinated.

Bloomfield said there were seven suburbs of interest. On how the outbreak was evolving, he said there were initially four clusters that were active. There were now several sub-clusters: two newly identified subclusters were a South - Eastern Auckland households subclusters, and a West Auckland sub cluster of households. Bloomfield said the new cases were coming from those two sub clusters. Otara no longer a suburb of interest. Henderson and Papakura now are. 

19 of the recent cases were linked to transitional or emergency housing. Bloomfield said neither included specific gang households. The South Eastern Auckland cluster was of five households, and included transitional housing units. The transitional housing sub-clusters were a mix of hostels, motels and houses - and there was often movement between those places. Surveillance testing was also being mounted up.

Bloomfield said a new study on long Covid had shown nearly one in three people would experience at least one long-Covid symptom - usually breathing problems, abdominal pain, anxiety or depressions. 

He acknowledged a free taxi service - Auckland's Co-Op Blue Bubble taxis would offer free rides to people to get to vaccination centres for their first doses. 

Ardern said the move to offer a residency pathway to workers who had been in New Zealand since Covid-19 arrived was a the most significant announcement in immigration policy in recent history,. "this will be a welcome move for those, for employers, and for the team of five million as a whole."

Asked about a person from Kaitaia who was arrested in Auckland and tested positive, Bloomfield said that person had not got the virus in Kaitaia and extensive investigation had been done to ensure it.