WELLINGTON, – New Zealand reported five new confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Sunday, said the Ministry of Health in a statement.

Of the five new cases reported, one was an imported case detected in a managed isolation facility.

Four were defined as community cases linked to the wider Auckland August cluster, said the ministry.

There were four people with COVID-19 in hospital on Sunday, including one patient in ICU, it added.

According to the ministry, the total number of current active cases of COVID-19 in New Zealand is 116. The total number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in New Zealand reached 1,421. The number of COVID-19-related deaths in New Zealand stayed at 24.

A range of operational changes to further strengthen the country’s borders against COVID-19 will be implemented from Sunday night including mandatory routine COVID-19 testing for all border workers.

New Zealand will remain at COVID-19 Alert Level 2 until September 16, with extra restrictions in place for its largest city Auckland, announced the government on Friday.