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Covid-19 update: 60 new community cases reported today

Oct 20, 2021

The number of new community cases of Covid-19 in New Zealand has dropped from yesterday's record high, with 60 new cases reported today.

The Health Ministry said 56 of today's cases were in Auckland and four were in Waikato.

Yesterday the ministry reported 94 new community cases, the highest number since the pandemic began.

There were also two cases reported at the border today.

Twenty-two of today's 60 cases are yet to be linked to earlier cases.

There are 43 people in hospital, including five in intensive care.

In announcing today's new Covid-19 case numbers, Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield said infections were still expected to rise and daily numbers would bounce around.

He continued to encourage New Zealanders to get tested for the virus.

"Of the four new cases today in Waikato, two of those are close household contacts who were already in a quarantine facility and the other two were also known to have likely links to existing cases."

The total number of cases in Waikato is now 56.

Bloomfield again urged people in Waitako to get tested

"Yesterday, New Lynn's Shadbolt Park was classified as a location of interest. It's now been reclassified as an exposure event and has been taken down from the Ministry of Health website. Having looked further into the event, which was being managed by a PHU elsewhere in the country it is now being assessed as an exposure event with a small number of people who are contacts. They are all known, have all been contacted and are now isolating."

More to come...

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