Covid 19 coronavirus Delta outbreak: Vandal dubs Devonport 'Deltaport'

The Auckland suburb of Devonport has been unofficially renamed by a late-night vandal using a bedsheet, transforming an iconic sign to read: "Welcome to Deltaport."

The transformation occurred last night, with the first sightings coming from early risers this morning, who shared photos online.

The bubble-busting vandals used spraypaint and a bedsheet to replace Devon with Delta.

The original wording of the sign is: "Welcome to Devonport, where time is always well spent."

Devonport was thrust into the national consciousness earlier this week when a 58-year-old Devonport tradesman was identified as Case A, the first community case in our current Delta outbreak.

The unnamed man has been widely praised for seeking a test when he developed symptoms and for his use of the Covid tracer app.

Most locals saw the funny side. Photo / Supplied

On a local community group, most residents could see the funny side.

"Humour is what we need right now," one said.

"The tragedy is that someone's poor mother now has an incomplete set of $400 organic Egyptian cotton sheets," another dryly noted.

Others joked that the sign would keep outsiders away from shops in Devonport village, while some mused on the possible effect on house prices.

"Devo-stating," said another, while one wit suggested the full location should have been given.

"Deltaport, Tāmaki MaCovid."

Some took the sign as a hit back at the suburb, with one saying it was "well deserved" and compared the public reaction to the Devonport case to previous cases from South Auckland, saying that those families had been "vilified".

Similar comments have appeared online since the beginning of the current outbreak, suggesting that the public and media response to Case A would have been different if he was from a less affluent suburb.

I'm glad we as a country have learned not to humiliate and ostracise covid-19 carriers

All it took was for them to be from Devonport and not South Auckland

— DairyMan (@dairymanNZ) August 18, 2021

now devonport man is a hero, no questions asked, yet the south auckland family got vilified in the media and online. we ain’t forget.

— big perm (@SianChristinaK) August 19, 2021

Although Case A was the first known case in the outbreak, there are now 51 confirmed cases and the Prime Minister has warned that they are likely to rise further

Eighteen of 21 new cases revealed today are in Auckland and three are in Wellington - one of which was reported yesterday.

Twenty-one of the 51 cases are now confirmed as part of the Auckland cluster.

Covid-19 has been found in wastewater at Warkworth on Tuesday.

A pop-up centre has been erected in Warkworth and anyone with symptoms is encouraged to get a test.