New Zealand recorded zero cases of Covid-19 for the first time in more than six weeks today, but one probable case is now a confirmed case, health chief Ashley Bloomfield says.
It is the first time in close to six weeks that testing has not uncovered a single case across a 24-hour period.
There are no additional deaths to report. The total number of cases remains at 1487.
This is because the probable case, which is now a confirmed case, was already recorded.
The last time there was zero new cases was on March 16.
Yesterday 2473 tests were done. The total number of completed tests is 152,696.
There are seven people in hospital, and none are intensive care.
For the 16th day in a row the Southern DHB area recorded no new cases. The region’s total remains 216, with nine active cases, 205 now recovered and two deaths.
Having no cases was cause for "celebration" and representative of the hard work done by New Zealanders, however Dr Bloomfield reinforced the need to stay vigilant.
"This is the first day of zero new cases and we want to keep it that way. Clearly these are encouraging figures today but it is just one moment in time. We are nearly there, but lets not slack off now."
The true test will come later in the week after the incubation period.
New Zealand cannot afford to squander the hard work and the advantage we've "worked so hard for", said Bloomfield.
He now needed to be certain there was no community transmission so it was important continued to follow the level 3 rules as later this week they would truly know whether there were other infections due to the incubation period of Covid-19.
It was a risk that people now get complacent and celebrate zero cases so it was "very important" people stuck to the rules.
Bloomfield commended the action Marist College to offer testing to the wider school community. "I am strongly supportive of this initiative."
Numbers of cases have been falling steadily since the early days of New Zealand's lockdown. For the past fortnight daily case numbers have been in the single digits.
Three new cases were announced on Friday, six on Saturday and two on Sunday.
New Zealand's success in stamping out coronavirus has been applauded by many other countries around the world which are still desperately trying to get Covid-19 under control.
Record number of flu jabs
On flu vaccines, Bloomfield said by vaccinating as many people as possible New Zealand lowered the risk of other strains on the healthcare system - particularly the elderly and the vulnerable.
It had been a record year for vaccinations.
There was a "very low level" of influenza in the community this year, thanks to the lockdown which had stopped all sorts of respiratory illnesses as well as Covid-19, Bloomfield said.
Nearly 1.4 million doses had been distributed and about 700,000 were yet to be administered at GPs, pharmacies, and other providers.
But Bloomfield said there had been some problems with distribution and urged any provider to get in touch with their vaccine co-ordinator.
On the trans-Tasman bubble
Bloomfield said in relation to a trans-Tasman bubble, both New Zealand and Australia would need to be comfortable with it and he was confident we could "move in tandem" if the governments agreed it
Nurses testing positive for Covid-19
Three nurses at Waitakere Hospital in Auckland who cared for people infected with Covid-19 have tested positive for the disease.
On why there aren't ministry guidelines on nurses moving between wards, Bloomfield said it came down to each hospital.
On standing down 57 staff at Waitakere Hospital as a result of the positive tests, Bloomfield said he'd spoken to the Waitemata DHB chief executive who said they'd managed staffing and there weren't any shortage issues.
Yesterday New Zealand had just two new cases of Covid-19 and 85 per cent of the total 1487 confirmed and probable cases have now recovered.
But Bloomfield warned complacency with alert level 3 rules could mean a slow move to alert level 2.
He said yesterday there was no longer any room for excuses.
"We're now nearly a week into level 3, and while there could be some excuses early on, everyone should now be more familiar with the rules, both around increased retail activity and our own social interactions," Bloomfield said.
"Continuing to be vigilant will be key in supporting a move down to level 2 as soon as possible."
And at the weekend, it was revealed 57 staff at Waitakere Hospital in Auckland were stood down as Covid-19 risks.
Staff working with Covid-19 patients there also worked with other patients, Newsroom reported.
The Northern Region Clinical Technical Advisory Group, representing the Waitemata, Auckland, Counties-Manukau and Northland DHBs, have supported the hospital's protocols.
It said as long as staff had meticulous use of PPE, maintained good hand hygiene, physically distanced and monitored themselves daily for symptoms they could move between wards.
With RNZ
