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There are six new Covid-19 cases in New Zealand today, all in the community and linked to Auckland’s Mt Roskill church group.
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All cases are community cases of the virus, confirmed Dr. Ashley Bloomfield. Source: 1 NEWS
Dr. Ashley Bloomfield, CEO of Health, gave the latest update today at his first Covid-19 press conference to be held this week.
All six cases have epidemiological links to existing cases and are linked to Mt Roskill Evangelical Fellowship.
Dr. Bloomfield says many of the fellowship members have been screened, but because cases are still emerging within that broader group, all church members are being asked to retest.
He says that anyone who has had contact with members of the fellowship should also be tested, even if they have no symptoms.
Four of the new cases are part of what Dr. Bloomfield has called a new “subgroup” of the church, with people involved in a series of “grief events.”
He says the activities included a funeral on September 2 attended by 48 people, and some visits to the homes of the bereaved.
“Unfortunately, one of the visitors to the house was contagious with Covid-19 and that has led to other cases in this smaller subgroup, a total of 14,” says Dr. Bloomfield.
“All close contacts from those events, including those who attended the funeral, which was 48 people, are now being isolated and being screened. Therefore, all close contacts are in self-isolation and have been and will be tested.”
Dr. Bloomfield has confirmed one of the new cases as a student at St Dominic’s Catholic College. That student went to school last Friday, but left early after starting to feel unwell and close contacts are being identified.
Tests will be conducted for the school community in general.
The other confirmed case is an Auckland bus driver working on the Northern Express service. Dr. Bloomfield says there are no close contacts from the bus trips.
There are now 74 people who are linked to the Auckland community group found in the Auckland quarantine facility, including 58 people who tested positive, including members of the household.
Four people are in hospitals across the country with Covid-19, two are stable in isolation at North Shore Hospital. Two are in ICU, one on the North Shore and one in Waikato.
There are four additional recovered cases.
The number of active cases of the virus in New Zealand is 125.
