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There were 2150 close contacts and 3775 casual plus contacts identified during the outbreak. The new contact categories were developed for “what boiled down to only two extra requirements”. The extra complexity for only two changes was “excessive”, the advisory group found. Individuals in an outbreak simply need to know if they are a close or casual contact and what, during that particular outbreak, is expected of them. While the new categories were supposed to increase clarity, “ironically, they facilitated blurring of the boundaries” between them, “increasing confusion” – such as when 1600 casual contacts were relabelled close contacts. At the time, the Ministry of Health said the additional classification of casual plus helps “provide flexibility in terms of the public health response to public exposure events as well as help standardise the approach for health services”.
New Zealand enjoyed a Covid-free summer, with no cases of community transmission recorded between November 16 and February 14 – 90 days in total. The Auckland February cluster, which saw 15 confirmed cases in total, was officially closed in April.
Abigail Dougherty/Stuff
The February cluster, emerging in south Auckland and affecting families linked to Papatoetoe High School, came after a Covid-free summer. Microbiologist Dr Siouxsie Wiles said the 103-day milestone is “an opportunity to be thankful” for where New Zealand is as a country, and to thank those doing the “hard yards” at the border and in managed isolation and quarantine facilities. The pandemic is still raging overseas, and more and more infectious variants are emerging, which will “test our processes”, she said.
What is wastewater testing for Covid-19?
Wastewater testing for Covid-19 first started in April 2020, with the aim of giving an early warning of outbreaks or an additional surveillance tool. The science has been developed since then, with a test in November 2020. The number of sites has steadily expanded and ESR now does regular wastewater testing across sites in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Rotorua, Hamilton and Queenstown. The samples are processed in ESR s laboratory in Wellington, and checked for accuracy – including adding a cat coronavirus and a mouse norovirus to every sample as controls.
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Anyone who has Covid-19 symptoms is being urged to get tested, particularly those who live in the Wellington region.
Friday, 23 Apr 2021 07:21 AM MYT
Motorists queue at the Otara testing station after a positive Covid-19 case was reported in the community as the city enters a level 3 lockdown in Auckland February 15, 2021. AFP pic
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GENEVA, April 23 One year on, backers of a giant global programme to develop and deliver Covid-19 vaccines, tests and treatments warned today the pandemic would not end without a renewed world effort.
The Access to Covid Tools (ACT) Accelerator, a multi-billion-dollar internationally-coordinated attempt to find ways to beat the pandemic, made rapid strides in speeding up vaccine development though a Covid cure remains elusive.