A nurse taking a nose swab at the Johnsonville Medical Centre's Covid-19 testing station in Wellington. Photo / Mark Mitchell
A nurse taking a nose swab at the Johnsonville Medical Centre's Covid-19 testing station in Wellington. Photo / Mark Mitchell
There are 15 active cases of Covid-19 in the Wellington Region, as the country outside of Auckland holds its breath for the alert level decision this afternoon.
Along with the rest of New Zealand south of Auckland, the capital has been in alert level 3 since 11.59pm last Tuesday, following a fortnight in alert level 4 lockdown.
This afternoon Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern will review the alert level settings outside of Auckland, and announce whether any regions could possibly move down to alert level 2.
Wellington mayor Andy Foster said he's feeling optimistic.
"All the cases we've had in Wellington have been directly from Auckland or close contacts of those people, so we haven't had that community transmission like Auckland."
We know what to do, but we also know we're facing a more formidable version of the virus, so I think people have got used to doing the right thing."
While alert level 3 still restricts movement to essential only, level 2 would allow for more people to return to their workplaces, and businesses to open up.
Wellington has been the only region outside Auckland with community cases, and has recorded 17 since the outbreak began.
Staff gathered while waiting for customers at the Te Papa testing station in Wellington during alert level 4 lockdown. Photo / Mark Mitchell
The country was plunged into lockdown following the detection of a community Covid case in Auckland on August 17, which has since ballooned to an outbreak of 801 cases, including 79 recoveries.
The capital's first cases were recorded on Friday, August 20, in three Wellingtonians who returned from Auckland and had been at locations of interest over the weekend.
While the number of cases in the Wellington Delta outbreak now total 17, all recorded in the past week have been household contacts.
Two of the cases have since recovered, meaning there are 15 active cases in the Wellington Region.
Regional Public Health has advised all active cases are currently in quarantine.
The Ministry of Health confirmed the Grand Mercure in Wellington had become a quarantine-only facility.
Police have been stopping motorists and checking people are abiding by essential travel restrictions. Photo / Mark Mitchell
The Bay Plaza Wellington was also now used exclusively for close contacts of community cases who were required to isolate, but the Ministry of Health would not comment on how many close contacts were currently isolating there.
Locations of interest listed for Wellington had included several supermarkets, a bar, petrol stations and Wellington Airport – but the latest date listed for a location of interest in Wellington is August 19, now more than two weeks ago.
There had been no transmission of the virus recorded at any of these sites, with the Wellington outbreak confined to household bubbles.
At the last vaccination update provided for the region, on September 1, Capital and Coast and Hutt Valley DHBs said a total of 331,518 vaccine doses had been administered across the region.
