Director-general of health Dr Ashley Bloomfield has confirmed there are 11 new community cases of Covid-19 in New Zealand today (Thursday August 19), including the three cases discovered last night. 

At a 1pm media briefing he said there were now 21 community cases of Covid-19, all in Auckland.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the current positive cases are closely matched to a recent returnee from Sydney.

“It means now we can be fairly certain how and when the virus entered the country,” the PM said.

The individual arrived in New Zealand on August 7 and their Covid-19 test returned a positive on August 9.

They were taken from the Jet Park quarantine facility to Middlemore Hospital earlier this week.

The way the infection entered the community is not yet confirmed, she said. 

Although the link appears to have been identified, “we are all prepared for cases to get worse before they get better,” the PM said.

Two of the country’s community cases were taken to North Shore Hospital overnight; both of them are in a stable condition.

Twelve of the 21 cases have been confirmed in the same cluster and a further eight are under investigation.

One is “probably a border-related case” from an international crew member, Ashley said. 

The PM said the Pfizer vaccine will now be made available for 12-15 year-olds. Parents booking their own appointments book for their 12-15 year-olds at the same time. Otherwise, this age group can book from September 1, with the rest of the country.

New Zealand is in its second day of lockdown; the alert level four restrictions for all areas outside of Auckland will be reviewed tomorrow (Friday August 20).

PHOTO: Supplied