By NewsDesk @bactiman63

The New Zealand Ministry of Health recorded 41 new cases of COVID-19 today, bringing the total number of cases in the community outbreak to 148.

Image/cmccarthy2001 via pixabay

Of these 41 new cases, 19 are female and 22 are male. 31 of these are Samoan, three are Asian and seven are European.

The total number of community cases in Auckland is now 137 and 11 in Wellington.

All of the cases have or are being transferred safely to a managed isolation facility, under strict infection prevention and control procedures, including the use of full PPE.

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As previously indicated, it’s not unexpected to see a rise in daily case numbers at this stage. At its peak last year, New Zealand had a daily total of 89 new cases.

There are currently 9 hospitalizations, of which 8 are associated with the current outbreak (7 related to community transmission and 1 border-related).

Of the 148 cases in the cluster, 89 are already epidemiologically linked to other community cases identified in the outbreak. Investigations are continuing to determine whether and how the remaining 59 cases are linked to the outbreak. There are currently 6 epidemiologically-linked subclusters identified within this outbreak. The two largest clusters are the Birkdale Social Network cluster associated with Case A (approximately 23 confirmed cases) and a cluster associated with the Assembly of God church in Mangere (approximately 58 cases).

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern extended a strict, nationwide Level-4 lockdown until at least the end of the week and for Auckland, until the end of the month.

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