Dr Ashley Bloomfield and Chris Hipkins revealed that cases from services and a wedding at a Mt Roskill church are not related to the main Auckland cluster. Video / Pool
The Mt Roskill church at the centre of a collection of mystery Covid-19 cases is working closely with health authorities to ensure its congregation is tested and contact traced, a local Member of Parliament says.
Five Covid-19 cases have been linked to the Mt Roskill Evangelical Fellowship Church and everyone who attended three services and a wedding are now being asked to get tested.
The services at the Auckland church were on August 8, 9 and 10 and the wedding was on August 7 - all before the region went to alert level 3 on August 12.
The new cases are yet to be connected to the existing South Auckland cluster that has driven the country's biggest city into a level 3 lockdown, but the chances of them being a new cluster were downplayed by director general of health Dr Ashley Bloomfield.
Genomic sequencing results released later today should confirm whether it was a new cluster.
Labour MP for Mt Roskill Michael Woods, meanwhile, said he had contacted the church to check on the welfare of its congregation.
"It is really good to hear back the church is well linked in with the Ministry of Health and is doing everything it can to keep its people safe, co-operate with the authorities and make sure everyone is being well looked after," he said.
Wood said he understood Aucklanders were finding it hard to deal with the recent recurrence of Covid-19 and the return to lockdown, but said New Zealand was still doing well in dealing with the virus.
He pointed to how Premier Daniel Andrews in the Australian state of Victoria had sought new powers to declare a state of emergency around Covid-19 at any time within the next 12 months to highlight how bad it is in other places at the moment.
A key to avoiding such fates was a strong testing and contact tracing regime and he urged everyone to play their part.
"If you've had a connection with any of those services or the wedding at the Mt Roskill Evangelical Fellowship a couple of weeks ago, please make sure you contact Healthline and please make sure you arrange to get a test," Wood said.
Labour Mt Roskill MP Michael Wood says the local church at the centre of series of new mystery Covid-19 cases is working with health authorities. Photo / Supplied
"Same thing if you know someone who might have been there, please make sure they have adequate information and are contacting Healthline and having a test."
"That's the way we get on top of this."
He also called on people of all faiths to be careful when getting together in large groups.
"I'm a church-going Christian and I know that for many people the lack of ability to gather in fellowship and worship on a regular weekly basis has been quite a tough thing to deal with through the course of this year."
He said it didn't matter which faith people followed, a big part of their practice was coming together in groups to engage "in worship in its many and varied ways".
"But the thing about Covid is it thrives in big gatherings, and that is the way it can potentially spread to very large number of people," he said.
"There have been a relatively small number of religious leaders who have bridled against this suggestion that we might have to make that sacrifice and not be able to gather together in large numbers.
"And I just want to say it is so important that we all do follow that advice.
"At the core of all of our faiths is a desire to protect human life and protect the people in the community around us, particularly the weak and the vulnerable.
Otago University Professor Michael Baker said the "mini-cluster" in Mt Roskill didn't necessarily mean there would be a big spike in new cases that were previously undetected. Photo / Supplied
"So it is incredibly important we do follow the rules."
Church services and weddings can be super-spreaders because they are mainly indoors with large crowds.
But Otago University epidemiologist Professor Michael Baker said the "mini-cluster" in Mt Roskill didn't necessarily mean a big spike in new cases that were previously undetected.
That was because there had already been more than 200,000 tests since the South Auckland outbreak was detected.
"The chief problem with unconnected cases is that contact-tracing can't find them. That's why the high volume testing is vital to controlling this outbreak," Baker said.
Otago University infectious diseases expert David Murdoch said today genomic testing would reveal any links to the main cluster.
There was "nothing obvious" to reveal a link so far - but genomic testing was a "very powerful tool being deployed in close to real time" that would hopefully prove the link. "We have to wait and see," he told Newstalk ZB's Mike Hosking.
He did not believe that the failure to find the index case - and where the cluster originated - was a major issue. The tightening of procedures, such as border testing, would naturally plug gaps.
The other case of concern is the man in North Shore Hospital, who is linked to the cluster via genome sequencing but how he became infected is still a mystery.
His household and workplace close contacts have so far tested negative.
The Auckland public health unit is looking at a private event he went to at the start of August, which Bloomfield described as "right at the boundary of possibility".
"They'll be leaving no stone unturned."
Baker said that was "good news" for signs of the outbreak being contained.
"There's no indication really that there is widespread transmission beyond the known cases at this stage."
He said the timing of the church events - up to four days before the new outbreak was confirmed - underscored the need for Auckland to have gone into alert level 3.
