Wellington, Aug 31: New Zealand reported 49 new community cases of Delta variant of COVID-19, all in the largest city Auckland on Tuesday, bringing the total number of cases in the country’s community outbreak to 612.
The total number of community cases in Auckland is now 597 and in the capital Wellington is 15, according to the Ministry of Health.
All of the cases have or will be transferred safely to a quarantine facility, under strict infection prevention and control procedures, including the use of full PPE (Personal Protective Equipment), Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield told a press conference.
There are 566 cases that have been clearly epidemiologically-linked to another case or sub-cluster, and a further 46 for which links are yet to be fully established, Bloomfield said. Of the current community cases, 33 cases are in hospital — 25 are in a stable condition in the ward and eight cases are in a stable condition in intensive care units (ICUs), he said, adding there are appropriate isolation and infection prevention and control plans in place at all hospitals where these patients are being managed. New Zealand also reported one new case in recent returnees. The case came from Nepal and has remained in a managed isolation and quarantine facility in Christchurch, according to a Ministry of Health statement. The total number of active cases being managed in New Zealand is currently 651, and the total number of confirmed cases since the start of the pandemic is 3,213, it said. Auckland will remain at the top level 4 national lockdown for two more weeks, with the area south of Auckland moving to level 3 at 11:59 p.m. local time Tuesday for a week. Northland will move to level 3 at 11:59 p.m. local time on Thursday if no new cases emerge, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told a press conference on Monday. Under the Alert Level 4 lockdown, businesses and schools are closed except for essential ones such as supermarkets, pharmacies and service stations. Life under level 3 will be relaxed to some degree as construction work and takeaway services can resume with necessary safety measures in place. The country has moved to a lockdown since midnight Aug. 17 after the first COVID-19 Delta variant case in the Auckland community was identified.
