There are 12 new cases of COVID-19 in the community, Dr Ashley Bloomfield announced on Sunday, with one additional case detected in a managed isolation facility.
The 12 new cases of community transmission appear to all be connected to the existing Auckland cluster.
Keep up to date with the latest from Newshub.
What you need to know:
- Twelve new cases of COVID-19 have been detected in the community as of Sunday, meaning there are currently 49 active cases of community transmission
- The 12 new community cases are all Auckland-based and early investigations show they appear to be connected to the existing cluster
- An AUT student has tested positive for the virus, according to NZME, who obtained an email sent from the university's Vice Chancellor
- An additional case has been detected in New Zealand's managed isolation and quarantine facilities, a child who arrived from Afghanistan.
- NZ First leader Winston Peters has called for an election delay amid the growing number of cases
These live updates have now finished.
8:45pm - Rural contractors are worried since hundreds of skilled overseas workers can't enter the country for the summer season.
The sector relies on highly skilled agricultural drivers from the Northern Hemisphere that come to New Zealand every year, but now preparations are underway for a harvest season like no other.
"[There's] an element of panic when we know there are a few key operators that are literally waiting in the Northern Hemisphere to come to us, so yeah we are still slightly panicking," says Wairarapa contractor Rhys Scott.
7:50pm - Rest homes say they still aren't getting enough PPE and they would like to see more "urgency" from health authorities.
Rest homes are currently in a level 4 lockdown in an effort to keep residents safe and the virus out.
After an independent review was conducted following the deadly Rosewood Cluster in Christchurch where 11 people died, a recommendation was made to complete processes for PPE supply, stock management, and guidance. But this wouldn't happen until January next year.
"Those time frames need to be brought forward. We need to have action on PPE supply right now, we can't wait until January 2021," says Simon Wallace, CEO of the NZ Aged Care Association.
7:25pm - Auckland and Tauranga port workers say it's unlikely all 12,000 staff will be tested for COVID-19 by the Ministry of Health's deadline of midnight on Monday.
The Government announced on Friday it was cracking down on the ports in case it was an entry point for the virus in this latest outbreak.
Despite the deadline, workers won't be punished if they can't take a test in time.
6:50pm - Auckland Council is concerned after thousands of Aucklanders packed parks and beaches during the warm weather on Sunday.
"The message is stay local, you don't drive across Tāmaki Makaurau to have a day at the beach," says Auckland Councillor Alf Filipaina.
Although there was rule-breaking across the city, locals were also confused around what was and wasn't allowed - especially when it came to playgrounds and water-based activities.
6:30pm - One Aucklander who has a young family says it is "frustrating" she was asked to pay for a COVID-19 test when they should be free.
To'aono Taula and her three young children are all symptomatic and she fears they're connected to the community cluster. She only got a test after she waited for a community testing pop-up tent to open.
"It was really frustrating [being told to pay for a test]. I'm actually four months pregnant right now and I have three kids that are also showing symptoms," she says.
"Sometimes we don't have that kind of money. $20 could go to either our food or doctors. It's kind of hard for us."
5:40pm - The Aged Care Association wants COVID-19 tests to be made available for staff in rest homes.
As it currently stands, staff members need to visit their GP or community testing centre if they require a test, but association chief executive Simon Wallace says time will be saved if staff are tested at rest homes.
"We're really pushing for test kits to be in rest homes so staff can be tested by the registered nurses that work in the facilities," he says.
5:25pm - Jacinda Ardern has sought the views of leaders from every political party in Parliament in regards to the election date, a spokesperson for the Prime Minister has confirmed.
"A range of views have been expressed that the Prime Minister has taken on board," they say.
"The Prime Minister will provide an update tomorrow morning once she has also reviewed the most up to date health information on the situation in Auckland."
New Zealand First leader Winston Peters and National leader Judith Collins have both called for the election to be delayed.
5:10pm - Auckland health authorities are thanking the community for record-high testing numbers.
Northern Region Health Coordination Centre (NRHCC) says the highest testing day was Friday, with 13,380 tests processed. As at 4pm on Sunday, 1557 tests were taken, although this number is expected to rise.
"On behalf of the whole health sector in Auckland I want to say thank you to the people of Tāmaki Makaurau. It has been an incredible response in a short space of time to the call to come and be tested," NRHCC lead Margie Apa says.
"I also want to thank all the healthcare workers, in public health and primary care, in hospitals, laboratories and at testing centres, and elsewhere in our city for their hard work and commitment."
She adds she encourages anyone with COVID-19 symptoms to go and get tested.
4:45pm - There are now fewer than 50,000 international students in New Zealand as a result of COVID-19.
In mid-March, there were 60,348 students with valid visas in the country, but by early August that had fallen to 47,807, data from Immigration New Zealand shows.
4:25pm - New Zealand First leader Winston Peters is calling for a delay to the election since the "health response must come first and politics second".
He believes there's no way a "free and fair" election can be conducted if the election date remains as September 19.
"Voters need to be able to hear from all political parties about their COVID response and other policies. That is fair. But until Auckland's alert level comes down the playing field is hopelessly compromised," he says.
4:10pm - ACT leader David Seymour says New Zealanders should have "four straight weeks" at alert level 1 before the election is held.
The Prime Minister will announce a decision at 10am on Monday on whether the election date will change as a result of alert levels 2 and 3 currently being in place throughout the country.
Seymour says there can't be a "free and fair" election while candidates and voters in Auckland are "effectively under house arrest".
"Elections are not just about politicians talking, but about hearing voters' concerns.
"For example, today I had planned a series of street corner meetings, a meeting with the North Shore Chinese Association, and a supporters' dinner in central Auckland. All of these events are now cancelled."
He says if Jacinda Ardern announces a delay to the election, Parliament should return so politicians can hold the Government and its COVID-19 response to account.
3:45pm - North Island iwi Ngāti Rangi is calling for an immediate regional lockdown around Ruapehu after a COVID-infected person visited the Tūroa Ski Area.
"We are calling for an immediate regional lockdown to protect our whānau and wider community. We experienced self-isolators in Ohakune at the last lockdown and we don't need that again considering the amount of vulnerable living population we have," iwi chairman Whetu Moataane says.
He says they have a duty to protect and care for the community, and he wants local authorities to step up and do the same.
3:15pm - Health Minister Chris Hipkins has made it clear that New Zealanders need to listen to official sources of information regarding the COVID-19 outbreak, issuing an impassioned plea for Kiwis to stop spreading misinformation on social media.
During the 1pm briefing, Hipkins echoed his earlier calls for Kiwis to stop taking heed of social media rumours, noting that verified information can be obtained from the official COVID-19 website, the Ministry of Health's website or the daily press conferences. Read the full report here.
Speaking to Magic Talk's Sunday Cafe on Sunday morning, Hipkins called the rumour mill "malicious", and urged Kiwis to use their right to free speech "responsibly". Read the full report here.
The Health Minister also addressed the upcoming election during his interviews with both Sunday Cafe and TVNZ's Q&A, acknowledging that the September 19 election date could still go ahead in a level 2 scenario. Read the full report here.
2:55pm - National MP Dr Shane Reti has called out Chris Hipkins for his "complacent attitude" towards mandatory face masks for staff at managed isolation and quarantine facilities (MIQ).
The party's Health spokesperson said the minister confirmed that up until the latest outbreak of community transmission, face masks had been optional for staff and officials working in communal areas of MIQ if physical distancing was possible.
Hipkins justified this by saying face masks were most effective at preventing the wearer from spreading COVID-19, rather than acting as a shield.
"His change of heart on Wednesday - when masks were made compulsory for all staff - was a smart move that was far too slow in coming, especially when I highlighted the issue weeks earlier," Dr Reti said on Sunday.
"The Health Minister's lenient attitude to this is, unfortunately, symptomatic of the Government's complacency when it comes to stopping COVID-19 at our border."
The use of face masks is not currently mandated in New Zealand, however health officials are encouraging New Zealanders to wear face coverings in public places or in situations where physical distancing is not always possible, such as public transport.
Aucklanders are expected to don a face covering when they leave their home for essential reasons, such as taking exercise in a local, public area or shopping at the supermarket.
Dr Reti's claims follow the revelation that nearly two-thirds of Auckland's COVID-19 border and MIQ staff had never been tested up until a week ago, revealed by Newshub in an exclusive report on Thursday.
2:15pm - Thirteen new cases of COVID-19 have been recorded on Sunday. Here's the recap:
- Twelve are due to community transmission; one was detected in managed isolation and quarantine (MIQ)
- The case detected in MIQ is a child who arrived on August 3 from Afghanistan via Dubai. The child had been isolating at the Pullman Hotel in Auckland, and returned a negative result at around day three. They later tested positive at around day 12. The child has been transferred to Auckland's quarantine facility
- All 12 cases of community transmission are Auckland-based. Current information suggests none have travelled outside of the region recently
- Two are household contacts of a case still under investigation - a GP from Mt Wellington - however all evidence suggests this case can be linked to the cluster
- Early investigations show the other community cases are all epidemiologically linked to the Auckland cluster as close contacts of already reported cases
- Two patients are in Auckland Hospital, one is in Middlemore
- Sixty-six people linked to the cluster have been moved to Auckland's quarantine facility
- There have been no further positive test results in Tokoroa
- There are 69 active cases: 49 of which are from community transmission, 20 are imported
- As of 10am on Sunday 1536 close contacts have been identified, 1322 of which have been spoken with and are self-isolating
- The ministry is working with two religious organisations in relation to contact tracing and testing.
1:50pm - NZME is reporting that an AUT student has tested positive for the virus and is linked to the existing Auckland cluster.
Vice Chancellor Derek McCormack reportedly sent an email to AUT staff on Sunday advising of the student's test result.
It's understood that the student was not unwell when they were last on campus and only became symptomatic on Saturday.
Staff and students who may have been in close contact with the individual are being notified, according to the email. It's understood the student's interactions were limited to the Master of Business Administration programme and specific areas of the city campus.
The Ministry of Health has been contacted for comment.
1:45pm - Dr Bloomfield said there's a "backlog" of tests - with some people waiting 48 hours for results - but he's "not worried".
Testing rates have skyrocketed since the fresh outbreak of community transmission was confirmed on Tuesday, with more than 60,000 tests processed in the last three days alone.
Both Hipkins and Bloomfield reiterated that those considering a test should do so at the recommendation of their GP, Healthline or Ministry of Health officials. If an individual is unwell or presenting flu-like symptoms, they are advised to ring their GP or Healthline prior to seeking a test. This is to ensure the right people are prioritised at community testing centres. GPs can also take the swab, although ringing ahead is required so the appropriate precautionary measures can be taken. All tests are free.
1:35pm - Hipkins revealed that as of 4pm on Saturday, 50,468 vehicles had been stopped at the police checkpoints stationed around Auckland's geographical border. Of these vehicles, 676 were turned back - 428 of which were seeking to leave Auckland, and 248 were hoping to come in.
The Health Minister emphasised that Aucklanders should be maintaining social distancing and minimising their movements where possible - if you don't need to leave the house, stay at home.
1:20pm - Hipkins has pleaded with Aucklanders to remain at home, reiterating that a "day trip to Waiheke" is off the cards.
Under alert level 3, Aucklanders must stay in their household bubble and only leave the home for essential reasons, such as food shopping, medical care or local exercise. Weddings, funerals and tangihanga are permitted under alert level 3 guidelines if they are kept to a maximum of 10 attendees.
1:10pm - There are 12 new COVID-19 cases in the community and one new case in managed isolation.
The 12 new cases are all in Auckland. Two are close contacts of a Mt Wellington GP, whose case is currently still under investigation. Health officials are confident none of the new cases have left Auckland recently.
Sixty-six people have been moved into the Auckland quarantine facility, the Jet Park Hotel.
Sunday's numbers bring the country's confirmed case total to 1271. There are currently 69 active cases, 49 of which are from the community outbreak. The remaining 20 have been detected in New Zealand's managed isolation and quarantine facilities.
The new case recorded in managed isolation is a child who arrived on August 3 from Afghanistan via Dubai. The child was completing their 14-day isolation period at the Pullman Hotel. They returned a negative test on day three of their stay, but tested positive on day 12.
Three cases are receiving hospital-level care.
On Saturday 23,682 tests were completed. Over the past three days, 63,231 have been processed, bringing the test total to date to 571,942.
1pm - Hipkins has urged New Zealanders to treat any speculation making the rounds on social media as "rumours", and to obtain information from official sources.
"Please treat the information you are receiving on social media as a rumour," he said during the 1pm briefing. "Please think twice before sharing unverified information."
His plea follows a widely-circulated - and now debunked - rumour regarding one of the Auckland cases, a rumour which caused "extreme distress to the family".
12:05pm - Health Minister Chris Hipkins and Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield will provide the latest updates on New Zealand's COVID-19 outbreak in a press conference at 1pm.
Seven new cases of community transmission were recorded on Saturday.
Watch the press conference live here.
11:25am - Health Minister Chris Hipkins has "barely had time to think" about the imminent September 19 election, with all his focus directed at the COVID-19 response.
Speaking to Magic Talk's Sunday Cafe, Hipkins said the "looming" election date is "challenging" as the Government and health officials rally to control the fresh outbreak of community transmission.
"The key criteria and the key thing the Prime Minister will be looking at, thinking about, is how do we make sure everybody's right to vote is preserved and protected?" he said.
The Prime Minister is scheduled to announce details regarding the upcoming election at 10am on Monday.
11am - Health Minister Chris Hipkins says the number of conspiracy theories running rampant on social media is "really concerning".
His statement follows a widely-circulated rumour linking the Auckland cluster to an alleged breach of a managed isolation facility, later debunked by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.
Speaking to Magic Talk's Sunday Cafe, Hipkins confirmed that none of the allegations proposed in the theory were true.
"Of course it was properly investigated... that was really, really unfair on that family, on that particular person," he said. "People just making stuff up and spreading it and sharing it? That's malicious."
Hipkins also had a message to New Zealanders using social media platforms to scaremonger and spread misinformation during this period of uncertainty.
"We still have free speech here, but my message to everyone is exercise your right to free speech responsibly. Don't go spreading information if you can't verify the source of it," he said. "We're going to great lengths every day to do a full briefing at 1pm every day that puts out the facts... Rely on that information, not some Facebook meme that somebody's shared."
Read more about the debunked rumour here.
10:45am - Ruapehu iwi have called for an immediate regional lockdown after it was revealed that a positive case from the Auckland cluster visited Tūroa Ski Area on August 9.
Ohakune-based iwi Ngāti Rangi are urging visitors to stay away from Mt Ruapehu for the safety of whānau and the wider community, despite inter-regional travel being permitted under alert level 2 restrictions.
"Ruapehu is not open for travellers. Regardless of current alert levels, we all need to be extra cautious and not travel unnecessarily," chairman Whetu Moataane said on Sunday morning. "There are enough tourists here already and we don't need anymore."
Moataane says the area has a significant population of "vulnerable" people that are at-risk if the community isn't closed off from wider New Zealand.
"Yesterday's developments prove that we need to be doing everything we can to protect our whakapapa - that includes our iwi and our wider community.
"That's why we are asking people to respect our place, by respecting our wishes. Stay home. If people love our rohe just as we do, they will respect our position and help us to look after our whānau and our community."
10am - Health Minister Chris Hipkins said the September 19 election could run safely under alert level 2 "over a period of several weeks".
Speaking to TVNZ1's Q&A on Sunday morning, Hipkins said the Electoral Commission has planned an election "based around a level 2 scenario".
"They could conduct an election safely with the entire country at level 2, with all of the distancing required," he told Q&A. "They'd run that over a period of several weeks so everybody had the opportunity to vote and so we didn't have huge long queues."
It follows Opposition leader Judith Collins' claim that the new community outbreak in Auckland will make it "very difficult" to have an election next month.
"It's going to be very difficult to have an election in mid-September when we are now mid-August," she told The AM Show host Duncan Garner.
"Basically, it is very little time and I don't think New Zealanders are going to want to see a postal-ballot type system set up... I am very concerned that when we have our election, that people have a fear of having an election."
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern will announce details regarding the election date at 10am on Monday.
9:30am - ACT leader David Seymour has argued that Auckland's small businesses, such as bakeries, butchers and fruit and vegetable grocers, should be able to open under the current restrictions.
Speaking to Newshub on Sunday, Seymour said there is no reason why butchers and bakeries cannot implement the same protocol as dairies and supermarkets under alert level 3.
"People can't understand why they are driving past their beloved butcher who is going broke, to mix with a larger number of people in a more distant supermarket," Seymour told Newshub.
"It would be much better for local communities if small businesses that are safe could open with the same rules as dairies and supermarkets... If a dairy can operate safely, then so can a baker, a butcher or greengrocer."
Supermarkets and dairies are currently able to operate as essential services, but with strict restrictions. Shoppers and staff are urged to wear masks and practice social distancing.
Seymour argues there is no reason why small, safe businesses shouldn't be able to open with contact tracing measures in place and a one-in, one-out policy.
"To battle COVID, we have to be smart... If someone is safe, they should be able to open," he said.
"Allowing safe businesses to open is much smarter and more sensible than a blunt, blanket lockdown that devastates livelihoods."
8:35am - An Ontario-based viral immunologist says New Zealand could face years of isolation if health officials pin their hopes on a vaccine becoming readily available in the not-too-distant future.
Dr Byram Bridle, a University of Guelph immunologist commissioned by the Government of Ontario to develop a vaccine for COVID-19, says a vaccine in New Zealand will be "late, limited and last".
"The race to develop a vaccine for the coronavirus is certainly on, but the timelines being reported by media, and hopeful virologists, have been greatly overstated," Dr Bridle said in a statement released on Sunday. "The promises being made of a vaccine within a year are very, very unlikely."
He says New Zealand will struggle to secure access to any version of a vaccine ahead of wealthy nations - or conversely, incredibly poor countries that have been ravaged by the disease.
"New Zealand would be unwise to rely on elimination of the virus until a vaccine appears - because a vaccine will be late, and its availability will be limited," he said.
"It's arguable that by being free of the disease, New Zealand will be last in the queue for a vaccine."
8:00am - New Zealand's independent cinemas are struggling to survive the pandemic, as a lack of major releases spells disaster for already dwindling revenues.
Gary Vinnell, the owner of Whanganui's Embassy 3 Cinema, says regional cinemas are all "struggling" due to their reliance on the American market - a market which has been severely hampered by the country's ongoing outbreak of the virus.
Vinnell worries the "non-supply of major release product" will have disastrous consequences for New Zealand's regional cinemas, which play an important role in their communities.
"That hurts most of the regionals, because that's the market we make most of our income out of," he told Newshub's Isabella Durant.
"Regional cinemas don't survive on arthouse film and New Zealand-produced films... they don't do great at the box-office."
Embassy 3 lost roughly 45 to 50 percent in revenue due to New Zealand's first outbreak of the virus, Vinnell said, and the wage subsidy scheme did little to cover overheads and operating costs.
He worries the Government is focusing too heavily on encouraging film production on our shores, without thought to how these pictures will be released to wider New Zealand.
"We can open our doors, but what are we going to be playing?" he said. "Where are the films going to be released if there are no cinemas?"
7:30am - Dr Bloomfield has urged New Zealanders not to point fingers at those infected with COVID-19, issuing the stern reminder: "The virus is the problem, not the people".
During Saturday's media briefing, the Director-General of Health slammed the online abuse of COVID patients, reiterating there is "no shame or blame" in contracting the virus.
"People who we know have tested positive to COVID-19 are to be commended, they have done their bit to protect the team of five million, and their quick action in coming forward to be tested and then going into isolation is indeed to be encouraged and commended," he said.
Meanwhile, New Zealand's Pasifika communities are also being encouraged to practice kindness and tolerance as authorities battle with the re-emergence of COVID-19 in Auckland.
"Can we be more kind, less judgemental and realise that the coronavirus is going to go where it goes for scientific reasons and not because of any particular ethnic group," said Soana Pamaka, the director of Pasifika Futures.
Read more here.
6:35am - The road transport lobby says there is "mayhem" following the Government's order yesterday that anyone who's worked at the ports in Auckland and Tauranga in the last few days has to get tested.
"This panicked reaction... threatens to bring the supply chain to a halt. There are only so many truck drivers to go around and if they have to stand down for 14 days, there is going to be no one to deliver any freight to or from ports and airports," said Road Transport Forum chief executive Nick Leggett.
"We cannot understand why the Government is running a line that ports and freight could be the source of COVID-19 infection. It feels like a smokescreen to hide what’s happening in managed isolation and quarantine."
The origin of the outbreak remains unclear. Genome testing and contact tracing have not found any links to the isolation and quarantine facilities. Health Minister Chris Hipkins on Saturday called it a "puzzle".
"This is a complete mess," Leggett said. "Drivers come into contact with hardly anyone at the ports. Where is this panic coming from and who is actually in charge of this mess?"
6:30am - We can avoid going into lockdown every time there is an outbreak by improving our pandemic response, says epidemiologist Sir David Skegg.
He told RNZ while it's the right thing to do now, the day will come when we need to learn how to deal with the virus' reemergence without locking down.
"Places like Taiwan have done extremely well without lockdowns. We need to get ourselves organised so that we don't have to have a lockdown when this happens again.
"I mean this virus is going to be around for several years. We've had a wonderful three months with a light of near normality. But I think we must expect there will be failures of excluding it again."
