Covid 19 coronavirus: 15 cases linked to Auckland rest home

Fifteen cases of Covid-19 have been linked to an Auckland rest home.

Staff and residents at Te Atatu's CHT St Margarets residential aged care who were confirmed or probable cases were part of a larger coronavirus cluster, CHT Healthcare Trust chief executive Max Robins said.

"As with some other clusters around the country, this one includes people from both within CHT St Margarets and also in the community, all linked by transmission," he said.

Due to the evolving situation, Robins would not provide a breakdown of who was a positive or a probable Covid-19 case, or how many people were in precautionary isolation.

The Ministry of Health has confirmed 15 cases of the virus linked to the rest-home cluster.

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Four Covid-linked deaths were announced today, bringing the total to nine since the start of the pandemic.

Six deaths have been linked to the Rosewood rest home cluster in Christchurch.

All of those who have died from the virus were over the age of 70 and had underlying health conditions.

Robins said he was not sure how the virus originated at CHT St Margarets.

The first positive result in the cluster was confirmed in early April, with the facility closely working with Auckland Regional Public Health Service since then.

• Covid19.govt.nz: The Government's official Covid-19 advisory website

"We swiftly identified all staff and residents who had close contact with the confirmed and probable cases.

"All residents, families and staff have been notified of this situation and I will continue to provide updates should the situation change."

Residents in isolation were asymptomatic, stable and receiving constant care, he said.

Staff members at home in self-isolation were "only mildly unwell" and receiving the appropriate support.

CHT St Margarets was working to protect the health and safety of staff and residents under the lockdown requirements with support from the Ministry of Health, Auckland Regional Public Health Service and Waitemata DHB.

This included the appropriate use of PPE, extra cleaning, actively monitoring residents for symptoms, appropriate testing of staff and residents, and not allowing visitors on the property.

"We have adequate levels of PPE and enough committed staff to continue delivering quality care for our residents," Robins said.