WELLINGTON, New Zealand -- New Zealand reported 35 new community cases of Delta variant of COVID-19 on Monday, in which 33 are from Auckland and two are from Wellington, bringing the total number of cases in New Zealand's community outbreak to 107.
All of the cases have been or are being transferred safely to a managed isolation facility, under strict infection prevention and control procedures, including the use of full PPE (Personal Protective Equipment), according to the Ministry of Health.
"It's not unexpected to see a rise in daily case numbers at this stage. At its peak last year, New Zealand had a daily total of 89 new cases," said a ministry statement.
The total number of community cases in Auckland, the country's largest city, is now 99 and Wellington's number of community cases have increased to eight, it said.
Of the 107 cases in the cluster, 72 are already epidemiologically linked to other community cases identified in the outbreak. Investigations are continuing to determine whether and how the remaining 35 cases are linked to the outbreak. However, most have a plausible link on initial assessment, such as people at a location of interest, the statement said.
Meanwhile, there are three new cases in recent returnees in managed isolation facilities. The newly imported cases came from Belgium and Singapore and have remained in managed quarantine facilities in Auckland and Christchurch, according to the ministry.
The total number of active cases being managed in New Zealand is 154, and the total number of confirmed cases since the start of the pandemic is 2,698, it said.