NEW ZEALAND is free of Covid-19. The last active case has recovered, and no new cases have been reported for 17 days on the trot.
The Ministry of Health said the last remaining case had been symptom free for 48 hours and was regarded as recovered. The person has been released from isolation. Their case had been linked to the St Margaret’s Hospital & Rest Home cluster in Auckland.
“This is really good news for the person concerned, and it’s also something the rest of New Zealand can take heart from,” said director-general of health Dr Ashley Bloomfield.
“Having no active cases for the first time since February 28 is certainly a significant mark in our journey but as we’ve previously said, ongoing vigilance against Covid-19 will continue to be essential.”
In this instance the individual was listed earlier on as a probable case but was removed when they tested negative for Covid-19. Then at a later date when they again became unwell, they tested positive. They were then included in the national tally as a confirmed case.
The total number of confirmed cases remains at 1154, which rises to 1504 with probable cases included.
A total of 1482 people have recovered.
Laboratories completed 800 tests on Sunday, bringing the total number of tests completed to 294,848.
The NZ COVID Tracer app has now recorded 522,000 registrations.