There are no new cases of COVID-19 to report in the community in New Zealand today.
There are also no new cases to report in recent returnees in managed isolation facilities since the Ministry’s last update yesterday.
The seven-day rolling average of new cases detected at the border is two.
The total number of active cases in New Zealand today is 22.
Our total number of confirmed cases is 2,313.
Globally, there have been 167,011,807 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 3,472,068 deaths, reported to WHO.
Since 1 January 2021, there have been 64 historical cases, out of a total of 497 cases.
MELBOURNE OUTBREAK
New Zealand officials remain in close contact with their counterparts in Victoria over the COVID-19 outbreak in Melbourne.
Given the length of time between the first case in Melbourne on 11 May and the most recent cases, now numbering 15 in this cluster, it is possible that people from the Whittlesea local government area in Melbourne may have been exposed to the virus and may now be in New Zealand.
The Ministry is asking anyone who has been in that area to have a test five days after they were last in Whittlesea and stay in their accommodation until they have a negative test result, even if they do not have symptoms.
Anyone from the wider Melbourne area who develops symptoms while in New Zealand should also ring Healthline and arrange to get tested.
Please keep checking Victoria Health’s updated locations of interest and phone Healthline on 0800 358 5453 if you have been in one of those places: coronavirus.vic.gov.au/exposure-sites
TESTING INFORMATION
The total number of tests processed by laboratories to date is 2,116,680.
Laboratories processed 4,776 tests yesterday. The seven-day rolling average is 3,722.
The pause in New Zealand’s Quarantine Free Travel with Victoria will be extended until 7.59pm NZT on Friday 4 June. This is following today’s announcement in Melbourne of a growing number of cases, more exposure events and the high risk nature of some of these events.
Victoria has put in place a seven-day lockdown from 11.59pm tonight with local residents now required to stay home following confirmation of additional locally-acquired cases of COVID-19, increasing exposure sites and a large and growing number of close contacts.
The pause extension is based on the public health risk assessment to further protect New Zealanders. Our public health staff remain in close contact with Victorian authorities about the actions being taken in Melbourne.
Quarantine-Free Travel from Victoria to New Zealand (one-way) will be paused from 7.59pm NZT and be in place for 72 hours initially. As with previous pauses, it will be under constant review.
Five linked positive cases of COVID-19 in Melbourne’s northern suburbs have been confirmed by the Health Authority in Victoria.
New Zealand officials have assessed that the most cautious option is to pause the travel bubble with Victoria as there are still several unknowns with the outbreak.
Four COVID-19 cases in Melbourne – restrictions on those who visited locations of interest The Ministry of Health is actively monitoring the situation in Melbourne and remains in close contact with Australian health agencies.
However, there will be testing and isolation requirements on people who have been in locations of interest in Melbourne, including those who have travelled back to New Zealand in recent days.
The Ministry’s current assessment is that the public health risk is appropriately managed through the actions taken by Victorian health authorities.
QUARANTINE-FREE TRAVEL UPDATE
The Ministry of Health has confirmed that the public health risk to New Zealand remains low following further discussions with Victoria state health officials this evening.
At this stage, the Ministry’s recommendation is that Quarantine Free Travel between New Zealand and the state of Victoria can continue. No further community cases have been identified in Victoria.
Health officials in Victoria continue to undertake contact tracing relating to the case announced yesterday. All initial test results from contacts are negative.