New Zealand records 21 new cases of COVID-19
A number of cases of COVID-19 in the New Zealand cities of Auckland and Wellington have been linked to a Samoan church service, with contact tracers trying to find attendees as a "priority".
A total of 21 new cases were reported in the community on Sunday.
The latest numbers were given during a press conference by COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins and Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield.
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Cars queue up for coronavirus testing in Auckland, New Zealand. Getty
It brings the total number of cases connected to the current outbreak in Auckland to 72.
It follows news that about 10,000 people are possible contacts of already reported cases.
Dr Bloomfield said all cases have been, or are in the process of being moved to a quarantine facility.
One of the new cases is in Wellington, while the remaining 20 are in Auckland.
The Wellington case was first reported on Saturday and added to Sunday's tally, meaning the number of cases in the capital stands at six.
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A lone runner along Devonport's waterfront as Auckland remains in level four lockdown. Getty
Five people are in hospital – but no one is in an intensive care unit.
Dr Bloomfield said some cases are linked to a Samoan Assembly Of God Church service held in Māngere, south Auckland on August 15.
Anyone who was at the church from 9am to 3pm is asked to self-isolate and get tested, he said.
The service is among a number of large gatherings linked to this outbreak – more than in any other outbreak.
Dr Bloomfield said it is a "priority" for contact tracing efforts.
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A number of cases of COVID-19 in both Auckland and Wellington have been linked to a Samoan church service, with contact tracers trying to find attendees as a "priority". Getty
"What we have seen in the past is that Pacific community leaders are very good at mobilising the community to get tested," he said.
The Pacific community has the highest rate of COVID-19 testing in the country, he said.
Three of the Wellington cases had been at the church service.
Eleven of the cases are still under investigation to confirm the link to the community outbreak – but there is strong evidence that they are.
Some of these cases are Auckland University students.
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The university being a location of interest was also a concern – given a positive case had been in a dining hall, students' residence and a ball with hundreds of attendees.
Three cases of COVID-19 were also reported on Sunday in managed isolation facilities.
One arrived from Malaysia, another arrived from Singapore and a third was still having their travel history confirmed.
Mr Hipkins said there are now one million people fully vaccinated against COVID-19 in New Zealand.
It comes after more than 50,000 doses of the vaccine were given on Saturday.
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Mr Hipkins said there are now one million people fully vaccinated against COVID-19 in New Zealand. Getty
"We continue to deliver incredible numbers we can be proud of."
Dr Bloomfield said the wait time following a vaccination had been changed to 15 minutes instead of 20, and he was one of the first to experience that after getting his first dose on Sunday morning.
Mr Hipkins also announced scanning in with a COVID-19 tracer app or manually signing in at locations will become mandatory in all alert levels.
This will include at locations such as cafes, restaurants, bars, casinos, aged care facilities, and courts.
He said outbreaks have shown it can be "extremely difficult" to track where confirmed cases have been if they do not have a record of their movements.
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Manchester Street in central Christchurch is pictured deserted during the lockdown. SOPA Images/LightRocket via Gett
Locations of interest would now be updated on the Ministry of Health website every two hours – unless a location needed to be published urgently.
Dr Bloomfield said there had been a glitch on Sunday morning where locations visited prior to August 7, which had been removed from the website, were reuploaded as places of interest.
These have since been removed again.
The Samoan Assembly Of God Church has been contacted for comment.
This article has been reproduced with permission from Stuff.co.nz.
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