Covid 19 coronavirus: Health teams completed 200 tests linked to Mt Roskill cluster

Health teams have tested 200 people in connection with the Mt Roskill cluster. Pictured: Director general of health Dr Ashley Bloomfield. Photo / Mark Mitchell

The leadership of the Mt Roskill church linked to New Zealand's latest Covid-19 cluster is working with authorities to get churchgoers tested, health teams say.

Mahaki Albert, tumu tikanga at Counties Manukau Health, said the Mt Roskill Evangelical Church's congregation had good access to testing.

"As at 10am this morning, tests from more than 200 people connected to the church had already been received at our laboratories since August 25," he said.

A new pop-up community testing centre will open in Mt Roskill this afternoon.

There were six new cases today associated with the church cluster, taking the total number of Covid-19 cases linked to it to 18.

The Ministry of Health earlier asked people who were at services at the church on Stoddard Rd on August 8, 9 and 11 or at a wedding there on Friday, August 7, to get tested as soon as possible.

Health teams likely have more tests to complete to get to the bottom of the cluster.

Director of public health Caroline McElnay earlier this week said there were 400 people at the wedding at the church and 200 people at the services.

Overall, there were now 133 cases linked to the recent Auckland cluster and 18 to the Mt Roskill "mini-cluster". New Zealand's previous biggest cluster, a Bluff wedding, stood at 98.

Another seven people had recovered from Covid-19 by today, bringing the number of active cases to 137, of which 117 are in the community and 20 are in managed isolation and quarantine (MIQ).

The total number of confirmed cases of Covid-19 is now 1376.

Yesterday, laboratories processed 9991 tests as the Government works to test 70,000 people a week at a rate of 10,000 a day.

The full, up-to-date list of testing sites in Auckland is at www.arphs.health.nz/covid19test