Ministry of Health still to locate second person who travelled with Northland COVID-19 case

The Ministry of Health is still to locate the second person who travelled with the woman who tested positive for COVID-19 in Northland on Friday. 

The Northland case - who remains in an Auckland quarantine facility - travelled to the region on October 2 from Auckland reportedly under false pretences and was there until the evening of October 6. 

COVID-19 Response minister Chris Hipkins said at a press conference on Friday evening the woman had not been cooperating with health authorities and it had been very difficult to get information about the case.

Public health staff continue to work to determine any locations of interest or exposure events associated with the case. Public Health staff are also working closely with police to identify possible locations or areas of interest.

On Sunday the Ministry of Health announced a spike of 60 COVID-19 cases, 19 of which have yet to be linked to the original Auckland outbreak.

All of the new cases were found in Auckland apart from three in Waikato and the case in Bay of Plenty reported on Saturday night. 

"The three new Waikato cases are linked to the initial Hamilton East case," the ministry said in a statement. 

"Of the Auckland cases, 37 have known links to existing cases and 17 remain under investigation."

There have now been 1587 cases in the Delta outbreak. 

Twenty of the latest COVID-19 cases were infectious in the community, the ministry said. 

Ministry data shows there are 29 people in hospital with COVID-19, seven of whom are in intensive care.