A fifth New Zealander has died of Covid-19 and there are three new cases from the Queenstown Lakes district, health officials confirm.
The latest death, a man in his 80s, was one of a cluster of residents in Christchurch’s Rosewood Rest Home who were transferred to Burwood Hospital.
- New Zealand records fifth Covid-19 death
- Invercargill nurse helped save British PM
- Health boss Ashley Bloomfield's Q+A
- Queenstown lockdown: 'Stranded in a good place'
- Mercy to help clear backlog
In an update this afternoon, director-general of health Dr Ashley Bloomfield said the "Rosewood Cluster" was made up of 13 residents, 18 staff, and two other people connected to that group.
One staff member at Burwood had also tested positive to Covid-19, and how they had contracted the disease was being investigated.
No cases were identified in the region on Saturday but three more cases were identified on Sunday and announced today.
Of those, 209 were in the southern region. One is in critical condition in Dunedin Hospital.
There are how 15 people in hospital, an increase of one from yesterday. Four of those people are in ICU.
No cases were identified in the region on Saturday, but three more cases were confirmed on Sunday.
Today he said a "handful" of people at the wedding had flown in from overseas.
He had asked officials to check what travel restrictions and self-isolation procedures were in place at that time to see if the cluster could have been prevented.
Dr Bloomfield said only 1160 tests were processed nationally yesterday, a low figure which reflected the Easter holiday break.
However, those tests had a 1% positivity rate, which was comparable to late last week when test numbers were higher.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the Government would make announcements on further initiatives to support business on Wednesday, and on Thursday would release details of what restrictions would be in place under a Level 3 or Level 2 alert.
However, Ms Ardern said the country was not in a position to drop down from Level 4 early, and that Level 3 would still entail significant restrictions.
Cabinet is due to decide on April 20 if the Covid-19 alert level should be reduced.
