New COVID cases identified in Auckland

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Auckland: Three new COVID-19 cases have been identified in New Zealand, linked to an Auckland high school.

Earlier on Tuesday a student of Papatoetoe High School in East Auckland returned a positive test. It was followed by two of the student’s siblings, a teenager and an infant, also testing positive.

The teenager also attends the school and works at a Kmart store in nearby Botany.

Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield announced the cases. Credit:Getty Images

The Ministry of Health said the Kmart worker had attended the store on February 19 and 20 from 4 to 10pm. Thirty-one of the worker’s colleagues have been identified as close contacts and are self-isolating.

The pair’s parents and an older sibling have returned negative tests, and the family has been transferred to the Auckland quarantine facility.

Meanwhile, anyone who visited Kmart Botany at those times was considered a casual-plus contact and told to contact the local Healthline for advice, the ministry said.

A pop-up testing centre was set up at the school on Tuesday afternoon and 672 tests were done throughout the day. The school was closed for deep cleaning.

The cases are believed connected to an outbreak revealed on February 14, which prompted a snap three-day lockdown of Auckland.

Stuff.co.nz

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