Tagged: coronavirus variants

Featured image: Widespread testing in Auckland now key to ruling out possible undetected COVID-19 outbreak

Widespread testing in Auckland now key to ruling out possible undetected COVID-19 outbreak - COVID-19

Guest Author • Mar 01, 2021 •

Michael Plank, University of Canterbury; Shaun Hendy, University of Auckland, and Siouxsie Wiles, University of Auckland As expected, genome sequencing has now confirmed the new community COVID-19 case in Auckland is linked to the Papatoetoe cluster, and is the more infectious B.1.1.7 variant. When the first cases in this cluster were reported on Feburary 14 Auckland moved to … Read More

Featured image: Why more contagious variants are emerging now, more than a year into the COVID-19 pandemic

Why more contagious variants are emerging now, more than a year into the COVID-19 pandemic - COVID-19

Guest Author • Feb 16, 2021 •

David Welch, University of Auckland; Jemma Geoghegan, University of Otago; Joep de Ligt, ESR, and Nigel French, Massey University New variants of SARS-CoV-2 have now evaded New Zealand’s border protections twice to spread into the community. In the most recent outbreak, which placed Auckland into an alert level 3 lockdown, there are three active community cases of the … Read More

Featured image: Your questions on the latest NZ Covid cases, answered

Your questions on the latest NZ Covid cases, answered - Infectious Thoughts

Siouxsie Wiles • Feb 16, 2021 •

Three new community cases of Covid-19 and an unknown source have plunged Auckland into lockdown and the rest of the country into alert level two. Microbiologist Siouxsie Wiles tackles some of the critical questions we now face. Could we be looking at a situation as worrying as last August in Auckland? Yes. Like in August, it isn’t clear yet how … Read More

Featured image: Close contact test results will be crucial to whether Auckland’s level 3 lockdown is extended beyond three days

Close contact test results will be crucial to whether Auckland’s level 3 lockdown is extended beyond three days - COVID-19

Guest Author • Feb 15, 2021 •

Michael Plank, University of Canterbury; Shaun Hendy, University of Auckland, and Siouxsie Wiles, University of Auckland New Zealand’s latest community cases, the first to be infected with the more infectious B.1.1.7 variant of COVID-19, have a plausible link to the border through one person’s workplace at LSG Sky Chefs, a business that deals with laundry and catering from international … Read More