Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield has issued a warning about the "long tail" of Covid-19 after it was announced the new confirmed Covid-19 case in New Zealand today was linked to an existing cluster.
The information was released electronically as no Government media conferences have been scheduled today.
The Ministry of Health said there have been zero deaths from coronavirus since yesterday's update. The death toll remains at 21.
The Ministry of Health confirmed today's new case is linked to the Marist College cluster in Auckland and was identified through recent follow-up testing of the school community.
"The person first had symptoms nearly two months ago and had a previous negative test," the Ministry of Health said.
"The result is considered a 'weak positive' and the person, who has been in isolation through the lockdown period, is not considered infectious now.
"We have previously identified instances of 'weak positive' cases, which can occur some time after an individual's illness."
Marist College Principal Raechelle Taulu said in a statement the school is continuing to follow the guidance it receives from the Auckland Regional Health Board as it prepares to reopen its doors on Monday.
"As a school we have ensured that we have exceeded the social distancing, hygiene and wellbeing measures that have been communicated to all schools by the Ministry of Health, and Ministry of Education.
"Our Board of Trustees and our staff have worked hard to prepare for the return of our young women on Monday.
"We are all looking forward to welcoming our students through our school gates and hearing their voices echoing throughout our classrooms and corridors."
Today's case means the Marist College cluster moves to 96 cases so far - the second largest in New Zealand and only two behind the Bluff wedding cluster.
Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield said today's confirmed case reinforces the 'long tail' of the Covid-19 outbreak in New Zealand.
"While we do not consider this case to be infectious, it does demonstrate once again that we must stay vigilant," Dr Bloomfield said.
"Covid-19 will continue to linger, so we need to keep consistently doing the things which will help keep all New Zealanders safe and allow us to continue to relax restrictions."
Today's announcement means New Zealand's total number of people who have or have had Covid-19, including probable cases, rises to 1498. The number of confirmed cases - the number New Zealand gives to the World Health Organisation and compares with other nations - is still 1148.
Of those cases, the Ministry of Health confirmed 1421 people have recovered, up 10 on yesterday for 95 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.
The Ministry of Health added there are two people in hospitals throughout the country with the virus, none of whom are in intensive care. One each in Auckland and Middlemore hospitals.
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, 7,174 Covid-19 tests were carried out in New Zealand, bringing the total to 216,787 so far.
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