Genome Sequencing for Case A Confirms Delta Variant 4 new Cases of COVID-19

Four new cases of COVID-19 were confirmed this morning by the Ministry of Health.

One of the four new cases is a workmate of case A, the case announced yesterday.  The other three are contacts of that workmate.  One of the three contacts is a fully vaccinated health professional who works at Auckland City Hospital and had been working in recent days.

Auckland City Hospital has taken some immediate actions to shut down any potential spread.  Those actions include stopping unnecessary movements between wards, testing all staff and patients on the ward the health professional worked on and standing down, testing and isolating staff on the same ward.

The Ministry received the results last night of the genome sequencing for case A.  It is the Delta variant. It is undertaking further analysis to see how it could be connected to cases they know about.

The key message from the last lockdown remains relevant: ‘stay at home, save lives, be tested.’  This will stop any undetected spread in the community.

The Ministry will be providing its assessment later today about the extent of likely spread in the community and the length of time the virus may have been circulating in the community.

Please call Healthline on 0800 358 5453. And go to healthpoint.co.nz to find your local testing station, they will be updated during the day