There are 39 new confirmed cases of Covid-19 and 28 new probable cases in New Zealand, bringing the country to a total of 1106, the Health Ministry has confirmed.
Watch the media conference here:
Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield said 13 people were in hospital, and three were in ICU - one in Wellington and two in Auckland. One of the people in ICU is in a critical condition.
"Two people have been discharged from hospital since our update yesterday and is recovering at home," he said.
There have been no additional deaths and 176 people have now recovered from the coronavirus.
He said New Zealand could be encouraged by daily case numbers staying at a similar level, but health authorities were still looking for a drop.
"Some success so far, but our aim is to stamp it out," Dr Bloomfield said.
Just under 40,000 tests have been carried out so far. There were 3709 tests completed yesterday, the highest number of tests in one single day.
Dr Bloomfield said there were now 12 significant clusters, with 72 cases linked to the Marist College cluster. The cluster associated with a wedding in Bluff now has 62 cases, and the Matamata cluster has 58.
He confirmed the new Christchurch cluster was based at Rosewood rest home, with 15 confirmed and probable cases amongst residents and staff.
Twenty residents are being moved to Burwood Hospital for further care.
"They have put a DHB person into the rest home to supervise the care of the remaining 40 residents, to make sure appropriate infection prevention control - including appropriate use of PPE - is happening there to look after and care for those remaining residents," Dr Bloomfield said.
Forty-three percent of total cases are travel-related, 38 percent had contact with a confirmed case and 2 percent are considered community transmission. The rest are still under investigation.
Auckland Metro, Waikato and Southern are the areas with the highest number of cases under investigation.
Quarantine, isolation and bubbles
Dr Bloomfield also cleared up the confusion he's heard about the difference between isolation and quarantine - versus those who are in a lockdown bubble.
He explained quarantine is the term used for someone returning from overseas.
They are taken to an Auckland hotel to be tested and cared for over a 14-day period.
That differs from those in isolation, who are close contacts of someone who has had Covid-19 and are living separately from others in their own home.
These people can go for daily exercise, but strictly alone.
The bubble is for everyone else in the country as level 4 lockdown continues for another two weeks.
- If you have symptoms of the coronavirus, call the NZ Covid-19 Healthline on 0800 358 5453 (+64 9 358 5453 for international SIMs)
