No New Cases Of COVID-19

Once again, there are no new cases of COVID-19 to report in New Zealand. This is the 11th consecutive day of no new cases.

Our total number of confirmed cases remains at 1,154, which is the number we report to the World Health Organization.

Our combined total of confirmed and probable cases remains at 1,504.

The number of recovered cases is unchanged at 1,481. Only one case remains active.

There are no additional deaths to report.

There is no one in New Zealand receiving hospital-level care for COVID-19.

Yesterday our laboratories completed 654 tests, bringing the total number of tests completed to date to 282,263.

As we noted yesterday, lower testing volumes are regularly observed over holiday weekends, and we recognise that this Alert Level 2 Queens Birthday, people will have taken the advantage of the renewed ability to travel and enjoy a break within New Zealand.

We want to encourage and remind everyone that if they have any respiratory symptoms, they should seek advice from Healthline, their GP or after-hours clinic about getting tested. Testing is free.

As we've done to date, we are keeping our testing approach under constant review. New Zealanders can be assured that our testing capacity remains high and that testing at the border and in our communities will continue to be an essential part of our COVID-19 elimination strategy.

Gatherings at Level 2
"We're aware of several large gatherings in New Zealand yesterday to recognise the tragic death of George Floyd in the USA," says the Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield.

"Anyone who attended these gatherings or who is planning to be at other upcoming events and feels they may be at risk by coming into close contact with people they don’t know, should take a cautious approach and seek advice.

"People can get that advice from Healthline, from their GP or after-hours clinic.

"Whatever the Alert Level in New Zealand, it's clear COVID-19 will continue to be a global threat for some time and it's important we remain vigilant - both as individuals and as a country.

"This means continuing to observe physical distancing to keep yourself and others safe, seeking appropriate heath advice, and most importantly staying at home if you're unwell.

"There's currently no evidence of community transmission in New Zealand so at this time, quarantine for 14 days after attending one of these outdoor events is not required.

"It's really important that people remain alert to symptoms and seek advice if they're at all concerned."

A reminder around the current Alert Level 2 rules on gatherings, which those organising and attending gatherings need to continue to take account of:

* There should be no gatherings of more than 100 people

* At those gatherings people need to be physically distanced

NZ COVID Tracer app
The NZ COVID Tracer app has now recorded 482,000 registrations – that’s an increase of 6,000 since this time yesterday.

We continue to encourage as many people as possible to download the app – it will help us identify, trace, test and isolate any cases of COVID-19.

We also recognise the work being done by businesses to get their unique QR codes up and running - the latest figures are for 21,215 posters having been created.
 

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