Covid 19 Delta outbreak: Novotel Ellerslie Ibis Auckland's newest facility to house positive cases

As of tomorrow, Covid-19 positive cases may be sent to the Novotel Ellerslie Ibis rather than the Jet Park for quarantine.

The Novotel Ellerslie Ibis will become a contingency quarantine site for positive Covid-19 cases, as of midday tomorrow.

The hotel has 243 rooms and will take positive Covid-19 cases that would ordinarily quarantine at Jet Park.

Director general of health Dr Ashley Bloomfield this afternoon confirmed to the Herald Auckland's Holiday Inn is being used to house a number of household contacts.

The Holiday Inn in Mangere has been set up as an additional managed isolation facility. Photo / by Sylvie Whinray

Joint head of MIQ, Brigadier Rose King confirmed the Holiday Inn Auckland Airport is being used as an "isolation facility for close community cases and symptomatic border cases".

Jet Park will be used for positive community and border Covid-19 cases.

A plan is under way to turn the Holiday Inn managed isolation facility into a dual facility, making 68 of its 247 isolation rooms available for quarantine purposes.

"Work is ongoing and conversations are ongoing between the hotel general managers, our partner agencies who supply our crucial workforce and wider stakeholders as we work together to respond to this evolving situation," King said.

Yesterday, Covid Response Minister Chris Hipkins hinted Jet Park could be out of beds.

A total of 24,402 contacts of Covid cases had been formally identified by 8am today.

Sixty-five per cent have been followed up by contact tracers and individuals are self-isolating. Seventy-one per cent of all close contacts have had a test.

Bloomfield said people were being contacted "very quickly" and should all be worked through in the next day or two.

"We've scaled up the additional contact-tracing capacity because - unlike for casual contacts - close contacts require daily check-ins for 14 days, and testing and follow up of results."

In the capital, the Grand Mercure has become a quarantine-only facility and the Bay Plaza Wellington is now used only for close contacts of community cases who have to isolate.