WELLINGTON, Aug 30 (NNN-AGENCIES) – New Zealand reported 53 new community cases of Delta variant of COVID-19 in Auckland today, bringing the total number of cases in the country’s community outbreak to 562.
The total number of community cases in Auckland, the country’s largest city, stands at 547 and in the capital Wellington is 15, according to the Ministry of Health.
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. tomorrow, for a week. Northland will move to Level 3 at 11:59 p.m. on Thursday, Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, told a press conference.
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 degrees, as construction work and takeaway services can resume with the necessary safety measures in place.
The country has moved to a lockdown since Aug 17, after the first COVID-19 Delta variant case was identified in the Auckland community.
Among all community cases in New Zealand, 522 have been clearly epidemiologically-linked to another case or sub-cluster, and links for another 42 are yet to be fully established, said a statement from the health ministry.
Of the current community cases, 37 are in hospital, including 32 in a stable condition in a ward and five in a stable condition in Intensive Care Units, it said.
New Zealand also reported one new case in recent returnees at the border. The newly imported case came from Qatar and has remained in a managed isolation and quarantine (MIQ) facility in Auckland, the statement said.
The total number of active cases being managed in New Zealand is currently 603. The total number of confirmed cases since the start of the pandemic is 3,163, statistics showed.– NNN-AGENCIES
