There are nine new cases of COVID-19 in New Zealand, five of which were detected in the community.
The latest update was provided by the Deputy Director-General of Health, Robyn Shearer, during the regular 1pm briefing on Monday.
All five community cases have been epidemiologically linked to the existing Auckland cluster. Three are associated with the Mount Roskill Evangelical Fellowship "mini-cluster", and the other two are household contacts of previously recorded cases. As of Monday, 128 people linked to the Auckland cluster have been transferred to the Jet Park Hotel quarantine facility.
The remaining four cases were imported and picked up due to routine testing in managed isolation and quarantine facilities.
As of Monday, 2505 close contacts have been contacted. Twenty-eight close contacts of the Tokoroa healthcare worker who tested positive for the virus have also been identified and 16 have been contacted.
Of the 107 active community cases, 85 are currently in quarantine. The remaining patients are likely to be in bespoke arrangements.
Eleven people are hospitalised with the virus, two of whom are in the ICU.
The total number of active cases is currently 131, 24 of which were detected in managed isolation and quarantine facilities and 107 in the community.
New Zealand has recorded 1387 confirmed cases of the virus to date.
On Sunday, labs processed 7219 tests.
"We want people to know there is help if people need it, for those struggling mentally," Shearer said, adding there are resources and links to practical tools available on the Ministry of Health website.
As Monday marks Auckland's first day at "alert level 2.5", Health Minister Chris Hipkins said it's apparent "some sense of normality" has returned to Auckland's biggest city. Masks are now mandatory on public transport, including planes, buses, trains and ferries, and "nine out of 10" passengers have been adhering to the rules, Hipkins said.
"It's a strong start and people are getting on with it," he said. "I know it's been frustrating and difficult, but this is just day one of level 2.
"As we chase down the current cluster, we want people to keep up the good work."
Hipkins also urged New Zealanders to get into the habit of scanning QR codes, linked to the NZ COVID Tracer app, while out and about. It is now mandatory for all businesses to display a QR code poster, so visitors are able to record their movements and aid contact tracing efforts. QR codes will also be mandatory on public transport from September 3.
The next update for the NZ COVID Tracer app is due to be released on Thursday, Hipkins said, and will allow Kiwis to save their national health index number in order to speed up the testing process. The ministry will also be able to customise contact alerts, so people who may have been exposed to the virus in the community can see the risk and nature of the event.
The number of scans each day is nearing 1.6 million.
Addressing the now-deleted Unite against COVID-19 social media post shared on Saturday, which asked all south and west Aucklanders to get tested regardless of whether they were presenting symptoms, Hipkins said he is confident the misunderstanding won't happen again.
"I'm confident that everyone's learnt the right lessons from that," Hipkins said, adding that the wording of the post was not double-checked by Government officials.
The post sparked "a bit of a flurry" around testing sites in the morning, Hipkins said, but the influx had mainly subsided by the afternoon.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Sunday the post was a miscommunication and "over-simplified".
However, Hipkins noted that testing priorities change, and the Government is now wanting to test more asymptomatic people as part of broader surveillance. The advice from both the Prime Minister and Director-General of Health has been for Kiwis to get tested when presenting flu-like symptoms consistent with COVID-19 - to ensure testing centres can prioritise symptomatic people - and to seek advice from a GP or Healthline prior to getting a test.
In regards to testing asymptomatic people, Hipkins urged GPs and healthcare workers to follow the guidance released by the Ministry of Health rather than primary health organisations (PHOs), as the guidelines are often revised and are not the same for all parts of the country.
Addressing concerns that Auckland transitioned to level 2 too early, Hipkins reiterated that the alert level framework is designed to accomodate for isolated clusters in the community.
"The alert level system designed to accommodate for an isolated cluster or clusters of cases in the community," he said, adding that the new infections are known contacts of previously recorded cases.
"The system is working as intended," he said. "The contact tracing system is designed to give us confidence that we can still have a degree of freedom while these processes are taking place... cases are out there, but we know where they are and where their contatcs are, so life can start to resume with enhanced protections in place... to provide extra security."
