Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says without the fast efforts of Auckland's Pasifika community, the current Covid-19 outbreak would be far worse.
With Pasifika making up 75 per cent of cases in this outbreak, there has been a large mobilisation among health authorities to get the testing message out into the community.
That message has been heard, with Ms Ardern telling Tagata Pasifika's Seinafolava Sanele Chadwick that lives have been saved because of people's efforts to get tested or speak with medical professionals.
Churches in the area have been linked to five new cases.
The first people infected were from a Pasifika family, their infections being picked up when they went to get tested.
"If we had not, in those first cases had members of the community who were willing to come forward and be tested, we would have not been able to get control of the cluster in the way we have," she said.
"They have literally saved other people's lives, everyone who's gone and made a decision to get a test, you've helped someone else, you've made a difference for someone else, so my word is of thanks, and please keep doing that."
With Pasifika making up the bulk of positive Covid cases in the current outbreak, leaders are trying to change the message.
She also had a message for those who are attacking the Pacific community, especially online.
"They are the dangerous ones, they are the ones causing people to hesitate, or to worry about going and getting tested, as Dr Bloomfield said, Covid is the problem here, people are the solution."
Today there are six new cases of coronavirus in the community, taking NZ's total current infections to 111.
Sixteen of them are in managed isolation.
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