Border closure to continue even in Alert Level 3: PM Jacinda Ardern

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has reiterated that strict border rules will remain in place at alert level 3.

Today Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield said of the six new confirmed cases of Covid-19, three were from overseas travel.

Ardern said 2403 people are in government-provided facilities. The number in quarantine is 97, with the remainder in isolation.

"Regardless of moving to alert level 3, New Zealanders returning home will continue to be quarantined and isolated at alert level 3," she said.

"We have given no end point."

Director-General of Health, Dr Ashley Bloomfield

Lockdown Day 28: 1451 total cases, 15 deaths and 1036 recovered

Director-General of Health, Dr Ashley Bloomfield announced 6 new cases today, that brings NZ's total to 1451. All are related to travel or connected to clusters. 

1 more person has died due to Covid-19. He said the latest death was a woman in her 80s who was a resident of the Rosewood rest home and had underlying health conditions.

1036 number of infected people have made recoveries in New Zealand.  

The death toll now stands at 15, adding two from yesterday, a 70 year-old woman in Auckland and a Kiwi stranded in Peru who died before being repatriated to New Zealand. 

11 people are in hospital, two in ICU. The patients are in a stable condition. A record number of 5289 tests have been processed yesterday, bringing the total number of tests to 94,467.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said that with three of the six latest cases related to overseas travel, the government would continue to quarantine people arriving in the country for 14 days during alert level three.