2 New Cases Of COVID-19

Today we are reporting two new cases of COVID-19 made up of one confirmed case and one probable case.

Both cases are linked to the St Margaret’s Hospital & Rest Home in Auckland.

The confirmed case is a household contact of a previously confirmed case linked to the cluster.

The probable case is a nurse employed by Waitemata District Health Board who has been in self-isolation and is now regarded a probable case. Both new cases remain in self-isolation at home.

The nurse had been looking after St Margaret’s patients at Waitakere Hospital and was among the close contacts of other positive cases announced previously.

Affected areas at Waitakere Hospital remain closed to further admissions and multiple precautions have been in place over the last week.

The DHB has confirmed to the Ministry that it has ample supplies of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) in stock and this is being used by staff in line with national guidance.

The DHB is also ensuring that training in the correct use of PPE and other infection control strategies for COVID-19 continue for all relevant staff.

Today’s cases bring New Zealand’s combined total of confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases to 1,492.

That is made up of 1,142 confirmed cases, which is the number we report to the World Health Organisation, and 350 probable cases.

We now have 1,368 people reported as having recovered from COVID-19, which is 92% of all confirmed and probable cases – an increase of 21 on yesterday.

Today there are two people in hospital with COVID-19 – one each in Middlemore and North Shore hospitals. Neither is in ICU.

We still have 16 significant clusters, four of which are now closed.

There are no additional deaths to report.

Yesterday our laboratories completed 7,204 tests, bringing the total number of tests completed to date to 183,039.

This equates to 3.5% of the population and puts New Zealand in the top 20 countries per capita for testing.

Level 3

New Zealand remains at Alert Level 3, as we prepare for Alert Level 2.

The Ministry’s advice remains to play it safe as no-one wants a second wave.

Keep working and learning from home.

Keep your distance from others when outside your bubble. Parties are still not on.

Remain local, travel only within your region.

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