COVID-19 Update

There are 7 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 to report in the community. ​
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In total, we have 56 active cases - 37 are from the community outbreak and 19 are imported cases in managed isolation/quarantine.

6 of the 7 new cases are already linked to the existing cluster in Auckland. One of the new cases remains under investigation (continued)

This is in addition to the one case from yesterday where the link to the outbreak is still being investigated. In both cases, we feel confident that they will be linked to the cluster. Details will go up on the Ministry of Health's website.

54 people linked to the cluster have been moved to a quarantine facility, including 24 people who have tested positive. ​
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Our total number of confirmed cases to date is 1,258 - we will report this to the WHO.

Our National Contact Tracing service has 1,090 close contacts identified. 934 of those have been contacted and are in self isolation. Others are being contacted.

The two people in Tokoroa who have tested positive for COVID-19 are being moved to the quarantine facility in Auckland. Their families and close contacts are in self isolation and all have returned negative tests.

All staff and residents at the Morrinsville aged residential care facility have been tested and all have returned negative tests. They will continue to do 14 days of self isolation as a precautionary measure.

Masks are now available out in the community. 3 out of 5 million masks were to be made available to community groups and social groups.

Travel exemptions: With the Auckland border being closed, we now have an exemptions process in place. Details about how to apply for an exemption are available on the Ministry of Health’s website.

There are 2 investigations underway of International travellers - one who travelled to Japan and the other one who travelled to Belgium who tested positive on arrival. Both were asymptomatic in NZ.

Both cases are considered low risk and there is no evidence that they were infectious. As a precautionary measure, we are undertaking contact tracing and testing of all close contacts. All close contacts so far have returned negative tests.

There have been no positive tests from our border and managed isolation facilities over the last few days. We continue to test all border and MIQ staff.

Yesterday our labs processed 23,846 tests. Bringing the number of tests completed since 12 Aug to 49,780. Some tests may take unto 48 hours to be processed and be reported back. Please be patient as you await your test results.