An elderly woman has died of Covid-19, the first death in the community during New Zealand's current Delta outbreak.
The woman, in her 90s, died last night in North Shore Hospital, she had underlying health conditions.
Meanwhile there were 20 new community cases of Covid-19 recorded in New Zealand today.
The death of a woman in her 90s is a 'sad reminder' of Covid's seriousness, the Prime Minister said. (Source: Other)
According to the Ministry of Health, the woman was not able to be ventilated or be placed in an intensive care unit due to the state of her health as it was "not clinically appropriate".
The woman, who was a household contact of an existing case, was transferred to hospital on August 28 from her home and was confirmed to have Covid-19 before she was admitted.
Her family was regularly updated and spoke regularly with her over the phone to health authorities. They are also being offered cultural support by the DHB.
“The whānau is devastated and shocked by the loss of their loved one and wish to thank all of the essential workers who have guided and helped them over the past few days,” the Ministry of Health said.
A family spokesperson stressed the importance of New Zealanders taking Covid-19 seriously, and following health advice.
"His message is for New Zealand is simple, 'this is real'."
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has shared her condolences with the family of the woman.
"Every death is a reminder of the damage Covid-19 can cause when it gets into our community," she said.
She added the death serves as a reminder of the importance of this lockdown in protecting against further loss.
"Our older New Zealanders and those with underlying health issues are by far the most at risk from the virus and one of the reasons lockdowns are such an important tool to stop the spread."
Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield also paid his respects to the woman and her family.
"This is a time for us all to offer our deep sympathy, while also respecting the family's privacy."
New Zealand's Covid-19 death toll since the start of the pandemic now sits at 27.
Twenty new community cases of Covid-19 were recorded in New Zealand today.
All of today's cases tested positive in Auckland, with no new cases in Wellington.
Of these, 16 have been epidemiologically linked to the existing Delta cluster. Four are still unknown.
This takes the total number of cases linked to the cluster to 752, with 30 unlinked.
There are 43 people in hospitals across Auckland; 10 in North Shore Hospital, 18 in Middlemore Hospital and 15 in Auckland City Hospital.
Of these, seven cases are in ICU or high-dependency units.
Traces of Covid-19 have been detected in wastewater samples taken from Rotorua, but the Ministry of Health says they aren't a cause for concern.
They say it's not unexpected considering there is a positive case at a Rotorua managed isolation facility.
Health officials have outlined eight sub-clusters from the Delta outbreak, with the Mangere church and the Birkdale social group still the biggest.
There are now 352 cases tied to the church and 74 linked to the social group.
The Ministry of Health says 84 per cent of the now 37857 close contacts have been reached by contact tracers, with 90 per cent of those having had at least one Covid-19 test result.
As of 9 am Saturday, there is now 144 locations of interest, with many of the recently added locations listed as supermarkets.
In the last 24 hours, 11037 tests for Covid-19 were conducted, taking the rolling average to 17134.
Most of these were in Auckland, with 5322 swabs taken in the past 24 hours.
As New Zealand's vaccine roll out continues to ramp up, more than 3.7 million doses have now been administered.
Of these, 86,544 were administered yesterday; 60869 first doses and 25675 second doses.
Two new cases of Covid-19 were also detected at the border. Both are travellers from the Philippines who travelled via Australia, arriving on August 15.
One tested positive on their first day in MIQ, the other tested positive the next day.
Today’s update was made through a written statement as there is no press conference from the Ministry of Health this afternoon.
SHARE ME