Today we are reporting three new confirmed cases of COVID-19.
Two cases are linked to the St Margaret’s Hospital & Rest Home in Auckland. The individuals are both nurses at Waitakere Hospital.
Both had been asymptomatic throughout a stand-down period which they spent in precautionary self-isolation at home.
They were tested as part of routine requirements for their safe return to work and the results came back positive. They remain in isolation awaiting further testing. Although further cases in clusters cannot be ruled out, strong precautionary measures remain in place at the hospital and the St Margaret’s facility.
The third case is a person who has travelled back from overseas, so is an imported case.
Today’s cases bring New Zealand’s combined total of confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases to 1,497.
This is made up of 1,147 confirmed cases, which is the number we report to the World Health Organization, and 350 probable cases.
We now have 1,386 people reported as having recovered from COVID-19, an increase of 15 on yesterday. This is 93% of all confirmed and probable cases.
Today there are again 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 processed 3865 tests, bringing the total number of tests completed to date to 194,191.
There will be a further COVID-19 update from the Government at 4 pm today.
