One more person in New Zealand has contracted Covid-19 and is in managed isolation, Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield confirmed today.
The new cases is a woman in her 30s who arrived from London, via Doha and Sydney, on Thursday.
She tested positive on day three of isolation at Novotel Ellerslie in Auckland.
Dr Bloomfield's announcement came today as Health Minister Chris Hipkins stood by his side, delivering his own announcement about further investment in the Covid-19 pandemic, including contact tracing and health responses. The Government is also bolstering access to other medicines Kiwis need.
There are now 27 active cases of the virus in New Zealand, all in managed isolation or quarantine facilities.
No one is in hospital with Covid-19.
The total number of confirmed coronavirus cases in New Zealand, when including people who have since recovered, is 1205.
It's now been 81 days since community transmission.
Yesterday, 1205 tests for Covid-19 were carried out, adding to more than 444,000.
Dr Bloomfield said the lower numbers reflected typical trends for school holidays and weekends, but as well the lower number of people presenting with influenza symptoms was "almost certainly" due to New Zealand's Level 4 lockdown.
He also said some people were deciding not to take tests, but urged people to be tested if they're offered to do so, reiterating it is free.
Dr Bloomfield said he ran a discussion this morning with medical experts about increasing the number of community testing for people with respiratory symptoms in New Zealand.
"We were all extremely conscious of and motivated by the situation Melbourne and Victoria now find themselves in. Small breaches there have led to extremely serious consequences and the health system in Victoria, healthcare workers and the wider public are now at renewed risk," he said.
"We obviously want to avoid that situation here and testing remains a fundamental part of our overall response and everybody has a role to play here.
"We need to make sure we detect any possible cases of Covid-19 in the community as quickly as possible."
The Government's NZ COVID TRACER app now has 616,300 registered users.
Meanwhile, the new funding anounced by Mr Hipkins today includes $150 million over two years for Pharmac to secure the ongoing supply of medicines and medical devices in the face of global supply challenges, $30 million further investment in the National Close Contact Service and the technology that underpins its work and full funding for the development of the National Immunisation Solution so it is ready for when a Covid-19 vaccine is available.
As well, it will invest $35 million to purchase and install equipment to supply oxygen to patients to support the use of more ventilators and respiratory equipment and an additional $50 million for PPE supplies.
"All these investments are designed to further build our ability to respond to the global pandemic now and into the future. New Zealand’s health response to Covid-19 has been world leading – we intend to keep it that way," Mr Hipkins said.
"The world is going to be living with the ongoing impacts of the Covid-19 global pandemic for some time. It’s important we continue to invest in our health services and build our capacity to respond to the virus.
“New Zealanders have done incredibly well to eliminate community spread of Covid-19 and we have some of the toughest border protections in the world to keep the virus at bay. But we can’t take anything for granted.
“We are constantly reviewing our response and improving our systems and processes."
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