12 Sep 2020

Covid-19 update: Two new cases reported in New Zealand today

1:39 pm on 12 September 2020

There have been two new cases of Covid-19 reported in New Zealand today, both linked to the Mt Roskill Evangelical Fellowship bereavement group.

Covid-19 coronavirus particles, illustration.

Photo: AFP

There was no media conference today.

In a statement, the Health Ministry said both of today's new cases had an epidemiological link to an existing case and they were both associated with the bereavement events sub-cluster that was linked to the Mt Roskill Evangelical Fellowship group.

The ministry said one of the new cases is a student at Sunnyvale School in Henderson.

"They were not infectious when they last attended school and Auckland Regional Public Health Service has not identified any close contacts among the school community. The school remains open and safe for students and staff to attend."

With eight more people now recovered from the coronavirus, the number of active cases in New Zealand has dropped to 108, including 38 imported cases.

There are currently three people in hospital with Covid-19 - one on a ward in Auckland City Hospital and two in ICU at North Shore and Waikato hospitals.

There are still 33 cases in the Mt Roskill Evangelical Fellowship group and 15 cases in the bereavement events group.

The ministry said 98 percent of the congregation had been retested by 8am this morning.

"Leaders of the Mt Roskill Evangelical Fellowship have actively encouraged all members of the congregation to get retested for Covid-19 and comply with other public health advice such as self-isolation.

"We want to thank them again for their participation in contributing to our efforts to control the wider Auckland cluster."

New Zealand's total number of confirmed cases of Covid-19 is now 1444, and there were 8838 tests processed yesterday.

There was one new case reported yesterday, also linked to the Mt Roskill Evangelical Fellowship bereavement group.

The government is set to announce its latest decision on the country's alert levels on Monday.

See all RNZ coverage of Covid-19

  • If you have symptoms of the coronavirus, call the NZ Covid-19 Healthline on 0800 358 5453 (+64 9 358 5453 for international SIMs) or call your GP - don't show up at a medical centre

Read more about the Covid-19 coronavirus:

Get the RNZ app

for ad-free news and current affairs