There were 35 new cases of Covid-19 in New Zealand yesterday, of which 33 were in Auckland and two in Wellington.
Of the 107 cases throughout New Zealand as at yesterday,
99 were in Auckland.
The Ministry of Health has listed 334 visits to 248 locations of interest and the vast majority are in the City of Sails. The ministry could not confirm by deadline whether there were any close contacts in Northland.
Northland Indian Association chairman Ralph Correa said more than a dozen mostly international students studying and working in Whangārei were finding it tough with essentials such as groceries, rent and mobile recharge.
"Some of these students have recently come to Whangārei and now they can't work 20 hours a week, so the thing they have to cut down on is the basic necessities.
"The lockdown came all of a sudden and since they get paid fortnightly, they would have paid for their groceries and other bills so now they are struggling. The longer this lockdown carries on, the more difficult it becomes for them."
Correa said the students worked in places mostly in the hospitality sector, which were deemed non-essential.
The association is organising food vouchers and groceries and is planning to talk to agencies such as Civil Defence Northland and the Salvation Army to discuss options for help.
Suzzette Monroe, of Multicultural Whangārei, said it was hard for many of its members to not be able to support their loved ones back home who were still affected by Covid physically, socially and economically.
"As the current lockdown extends, we will work in collaboration with our network of community, social and government agencies in order to support those in our community who need assistance."
Northland businesses impacted by the lockdown are able to tap into a range of financial support available from the Ministry of Social Development and other agencies in the region.
Application for the Wage Subsidy opened on Friday last week and covers a 14-day period to contribute to the cost of employee wages only. The payment rate is $600 a week for full-time employees and $359 for those working part-time.
Businesses need to have had or predict to have a minimum 40 per cent decline in revenue in the 14 days since the alert level escalation between August 17 and 30.
The Covid-19 Leave Support Scheme is available for employers to help pay their employees who need to self-isolate and cannot work from home. It is paid as a two-week lump sum per eligible employee.
The Covid-19 Short-term Absence Payment is available for employers to help pay their employees who need to stay at home while awaiting a negative Covid test result and cannot work from home.
People can apply for this payment once, for each eligible worker in any 30-day period.
Businesses and self-employed people will also be able to get support with business costs like rent or fixed costs through the Resurgence Support Payment, administered by Inland Revenue, which opens today
and can be accessed through the IRD website.
In Northland, 1729 Covid tests took place between Friday and Sunday and bookings are available through to December on Book my Vaccine website for the four main centres in Dargaville, Whangārei, Kerikeri and Kaitaia.
As of 3pm yesterday,
100,095 doses of the Covid vaccination had been administered in Northland.
Jeanette Wedding, senior responsible officer for Northland District Health Board's Covid-19 vaccination programme, said essential workers and other priority populations were being issued with an access code so they got priority into reserved booking slots.
For the rest of the population, she said they have an equal opportunity to book through bookmyvaccine.covid19.health.nz/
NDHB is running a running a drive through in Dargaville today, in collaboration with Te Ha Oranga, and again on Wednesday.
There is also a drive through in Whangārei at Northland Events Centre today and tomorrow. From Wednesday the DHB plans to run a drive through at Kioreora Rd, Whangārei, on Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday, there are some bookings available this week.
NDHB is also running a drive through in Kerikeri on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday this week.
Those eligible for a Covid vaccination include:
40 years and older
Essential workers in supermarkets, dairies and petrol stations
Eligible parents or guardians (40+) who are booking their vaccination,can also book in a vaccination for any 12 to 15-year-olds in their whānau
Kuia, kaumātua and their whānau (the people they live with and their carers),
People aged 16-64 and have a relevant underlying health condition, or a person with a disability, or someone caring for a person with a disability, or
are pregnant (any trimester).
