New Zealand’s COVID-19 outbreak grew by 35 cases on Monday, taking the overall outbreak to 107.
Of the new cases, 33 are from Auckland and two are in Wellington.
The growth is not unexpected, with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern warning Kiwis on the weekend daily case numbers would grow before they subsided.
However, the additional cases are continuing to strain the health system.
Each new case adds potential exposure sites, which then add to the list of contacts that must be informed, and isolated.
As of Monday lunch, more than 300 ‘locations of interest’ have been identified, looping in more than 13,230 contacts.
“Of these contacts, 6,773 have been contacted by public health staff and are self-isolating, and 42 per cent have had a test,” a health ministry statement read.
“Work is underway to contact the remaining 6,457 contacts.”
Health officials have been able to link 72 cases to the same source, with investigations into the remaining 35 ongoing.
“Most have a plausible link on initial assessment,” a health ministry statement read.
Ms Ardern’s government will use the case data to make a call on the national lockdown.
At present, the lockdown has been confirmed through to Tuesday night, with widespread expectations it will be lengthened.
This outbreak is the first time the infectious Delta variant has been present in New Zealand’s community.
AAP
