Once again, there are no new cases of COVID-19 to report in New Zealand marking the tenth consecutive day of no new cases.
The Ministry of Health says the total number of confirmed cases remains at 1,154, which is the number reported to the World Health Organization.
“Our combined total of confirmed and probable cases remains at 1,504. The number of recovered cases is unchanged at 1,481. Only one case remains active,” the ministry said in a statement.
There are no additional deaths to report and the current number of deaths in New Zealand related to the infection remains at 22.
There is no one in New Zealand receiving hospital-level care for COVID-19.
Testing
Yesterday laboratories completed 626 tests, bringing the total number of tests completed to date to 281,609, say the ministry.
"Lower testing volumes are regularly observed over holiday weekends, and we recognise that this Alert Level 2 Queens Birthday, people will have been taking the advantage of the renewed ability to travel and enjoy a break within New Zealand."
People are still encouraged to seek advice from Healthline, their GP or after-hours clinic about getting tested if they have any respiratory symptoms. Testing is free.
"As we've done to date, we'll keep our testing approach under constant review to respond to any changes, and New Zealanders can be assured that testing will continue to be a tool against COVID-19."
The ministry has requested that District Health Boards continue to ensure equitable access to testing for those who have symptoms consistent with COVID-19.
"Each DHB will be making its own decisions on how best to provide testing over the coming weeks and this may involve a mix of CBACs, mobile services, primary care and other community-based testing. Each DHB will determine when and if it is appropriate for them to close their CBACs, while ensuring that testing is available."
As at Friday May 29, there were 64 active Community Based Assessment Centres (CBACs) operating around the country and 105 designated practices, including mobile clinics, providing assessments and swabbing.
"We have continued to review and update our sentinel and surveillance testing strategy throughout the response. An updated testing strategy will be considered by Cabinet this week. We anticipate any updates on this strategy should be publicly available by mid-June."
For more information about testing for COVID-19 during Alert Level 2 visit here.