Decision day as COVID slips Auckland border

Cabinet will decide today whether Auckland can come out of level-4 lockdown.

There were 27 new community cases of COVID-19 confirmed yesterday, including three Waikato cases in the evening.

They were members of a Waikato household linked to a remand prisoner with COVID-19 who tested positive for the virus on Friday, after appearing at the Manukau District Court.

Four police officers, five Corrections staff and six prisoners were being treated as contacts.

One of the Waikato cases is a child who was symptomatic while at school on Thursday.

Mangatangi School on the Hauraki Plains is closed today and arrangements are being made for students and their families to be tested.

There will be a pop-up testing centre at the Wharekawa Marae in Whakatīwai.

Despite the jump in new cases over the weekend, health authorities are cautiously optimistic they represent the long tail of the outbreak.

All 20 of Saturday’s cases were linked to existing cases, and Sunday’s cases were also dominated by household contacts.

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