"I'm really impressed that everybody is pulling together."
She encouraged people to keep getting tested and if they were feeling unwell, and asked people to "think about other families" before going to "areas that you shouldn't be".
Murupara is in the Whakatāne district of the Bay of Plenty region. It is on the banks of the Rangitaiki River, around 60km southeast of Rotorua. It had a population of 1815 in the 2018 Census.
Just over half - 51.6 per cent - of Murupara's eligible population was fully vaccinated and 67 per cent had had their first dose, according to Ministry of Health data. Data also shows 48.9 per cent of its Māori population was fully vaccinated.
The town's vaccination rates were far lower than other areas of the Bay of Plenty DHB catchment such as Tauranga Central with 91.1 per cent and Whakatāne Central with 81.7 per cent fully vaccinated.
Rotorua Central, in the Lakes DHB, was 87.5 per cent fully vaccinated.
On Tuesday, the Bay of Plenty DHB overall had recorded 93 per cent first doses and 88 per cent second doses, of the eligible population, the ministry reported.