WELLINGTON, Sept 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) – New Zealand reported 11 new community cases of COVID-19 today, all in the largest city Auckland, which brought the total number of cases in the current community outbreak in the country to 1,007.
Of the current community cases, 14 are in hospital, including three in intensive care units (ICUs) or high dependency units (HDUs), Director of Public Health, Caroline McElnay, told a press conference.
Auckland has 990 community cases and the capital Wellington has 17 cases, McElnay said.
There are 973 cases that have been clearly epidemiologically-linked to another case or sub-cluster, and a further 13 for which links are yet to be fully established, she said.
According to the Ministry of Health, New Zealand also reported five cases in recent returnees. These cases have remained in managed isolation and quarantine facilities in Auckland, Hamilton and Christchurch.
Areas outside Auckland moved to Alert Level 2 from 11:59 p.m. local time on Sept 7, which means businesses and schools are back to normal, with masks mandatory in certain settings, and gatherings limited to 50 people in size.
Auckland currently remains at Level 4, the top-level COVID-19 lockdown, for another week.– NNN-AGENCIES
