Update on COVID-19 cases — 26 August
There are 68 new cases of COVID-19 in the New Zealand community to confirm today.
This brings the total number of cases in the community outbreak to 277. One case reported yesterday has been reclassified as not a case after being confirmed as a false positive.
The total number of community cases in Auckland is now 263 and in Wellington it is 14. The two new Wellington cases are household contacts of a current case and were in isolation during their infectious period.
All of the cases have or are being transferred safely to a quarantine facility, under strict infection prevention and control procedures, including the use of full PPE.
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 154 cases to date which are epi-linked, and a further 123 for which links are yet to be established.
Fifteen of the current community cases are in a stable condition in hospital; there are no cases in ICU. Of these, three are in North Shore Hospital, seven are in Middlemore Hospital, and five are in Auckland City Hospital.
There is one new case in a recent returnee in a managed isolation facility.