There are two new cases of COVID-19 to report in New Zealand today.
Both are cases in the community and both have epidemiological links to the Auckland cluster.
One new case is a household contact of a previously confirmed case associated with the Finance Now workplace.
The other new case is associated with an existing Tokoroa case.
This new case was reported yesterday evening and is a healthcare worker who works at a medical centre in Tokoroa. It is believed they came into contact with the existing case on 17 August.
Since 11 August, our contact tracing team have identified 2,587 close contacts of cases, of which 2,475 have been contacted and are self-isolating, and we are in the process of contacting the rest.
There are 138 people linked to the community cluster who have been transferred to the Auckland quarantine facility, which includes 86 people who have tested positive for COVID-19 and their household contacts.
There are 10 people with COVID-19 in hospital today; two in Auckland City, three in Middlemore, three in North Shore and two in Waikato. Eight people are on a ward, and two are in ICU – one each in Middlemore and Waikato Hospitals.
There are two previously reported cases who are considered to have recovered today. With today’s two new cases, this means our total number of active confirmed cases remains at 136, plus one previously reported probable case remains active. Of the 137 active cases, 20 are imported cases in MIQ facilities, and 117 are community cases.
Our total number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 is now 1,378, which is the number we report to the World Health Organization.