The Director-General of Health has announced two new Covid-19 cases in New Zealand today.
Speaking at today's Government media conference, Dr Ashley Bloomfield said no one has died from coronavirus since yesterday's update. The death toll remains at 19.
The new Covid-19 cases were made up of one confirmed case and one probable case.
Today's cases brings New Zealand's total number of people who have or have had Covid-19, including probable cases, to 1474. The number of confirmed cases - the number New Zealand gives to the World Health Organisation and compares with other nations - is 1126.
Of those cases, Dr Bloomfield confirmed 1229 people have recovered, up 15 on yesterday for 83 per cent of all cases. A recovered case means the person is symptom free for at least 48 hours and it has been at least 10 days since they first became ill.
Dr Bloomfield added there are six people in hospitals throughout the country with the virus, none of whom are in intensive care.
There are still 16 significant Covid-19 clusters around the country. A significant cluster is a group of 10 or more people who have or have had the coronavirus.
Yesterday, 2637 Covid-19 tests were carried out in New Zealand, bringing the total to 128,073 so far.
Dr Bloomfield addressed the expectations around safety in Alert Level 3 after photos surfaced of a large gathering outside a Burger Fuel eatery appeared online.
He said there were a few matters that needed "ironing out".
"It's crucial we stay vigilant and in particular, maintain the guidelines around physical distancing, keeping within bubbles, good hand hygiene and not going out if unwell.
"As commercial activity resumes, this applies to businesses and retailers who are now interacting in a contactless way with providers."
There were 742 complaints made yesterday of businesses not complying with Level 3 rules, with a majority related to a lack of social distancing.
"I think for the most part, businesses got that right. However, we did see some pictures of quite large groups congregating outside one or two places," Dr Bloomfield said.
"I'm sure those businesses involved will be working on their processes today to ensure that any customers today waiting to pick up goods or services can maintain physical distancing.
"That will be imperative in terms of our ability to provide confidence to the Government that we are ready to move down alert levels in due course."
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern did offer some good news for businesses though, saying the Government is working on helping small businesses with commercial rents.
"We've heard the call for extra support from small businesses over and above that was already provided through the wage subsidy and tech tax measures and we are working actively to resolve that."
SHARE ME