New Zealand has seven new virus cases – all related to the Auckland communuty cluster.
Health Minister Chris Hipkins and director general of health Ashley Bloomfield are giving the 1pm daily update.
Bloomfield said two of the new cases are linked to churches and two are household contacts.
The country now has 129 active cases, 19 of which are in managed isolation or quarantine facilities.
As usual they will reveal the latest case numbers, testing data and answer questions on the health response.
Auckland will move into level 2 like the rest of the country at midnight on Sunday except with stricter rules.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced a four-day extension to Auckland’s lockdown yesterday.
Auckland workplaces and schools can open under normal level 2 conditions, but bars and restaurants will have to keep groups to no more than 10 people and abide by the “seated, separated, single server”. Dance floors at clubs will have to remain empty.
Auckland parties and church gatherings will also be restricted to 10 people, but funerals and tangi will be allowed up to 50 people.
The rest of the country will continue under normal level 2 rules, including the 100-person limit on gatherings.
These alert level settings will remain in place for at least one week, with Cabinet reviewing them on Sunday, September 6.
Positive case at office block
It emerged today that an office worker in a downtown Auckland office block has tested positive for Covid-19.
Tenants in the Crombie Lockwood tower, in Queen St, have been sent an email confirming the news someone in their building had tested positive for the virus.
“Last night, one of our tenants was advised that a member of their staff from the 191 Queen Street office has tested positive for Covid-19,” it said.
“The staff member and all members of their household are now in quarantine under the care of [the] Auckland Regional Public Health.”
The email was sent to the Herald by a tenant in the building.
Tenants were told that the staffer had last been in the building last week on Monday, August 17. They only went into their office, tenants were told.
“ARPH has advised that the test results will determine how far back they need to contact-trace.”
The building is on an after hours-only access schedule.
“So even with an access card, this person wouldn’t have been able to go anywhere else than his/her office and floor.”
The email goes on to say that the person involved is regarded “full floor tenancy” so it would be very unlikely they would have been in contact with anyone else in the building.
Under investigation
Yesterday there were still three cases under investigation yesterday – including the Rydges maintenance worker – with officials unable to make an epidemiological link.
Genome testing was underway.
And 10 people were in hospital, including two people in intensive care in Middlemore.
About 2,300 close contacts of cases had been identified, of which 2,249 had been contacted by yesterday morning and all were self-isolating.
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