New Zealand will move to level 3 of lockdown on Monday, April 27 at 11:59pm. Alert level 3 will be held for two weeks and then Cabinet will assess whether to move down another level.
There are nine new cases of coronavirus in New Zealand today.
That is made up of four new confirmed cases and five new probable cases, the Ministry of Health has confirmed.
There are no new deaths today, meaning the number of New Zealanders who have died from the virus remains at 18.
Of the new cases reported today, four are linked to existing clusters, and five are linked to known confirmed cases.
For the past seven days in a row, the number of new Covid-19 cases has been in single figures. However, the number of Covid-19 related deaths has also slowly been increasing.
The additional nine cases today means the total number of new and confirmed Covid-19 cases in New Zealand is 1470. Some 1142 people have recovered, an increase on 24 compared to yesterday.
Commercial Bay Britomart general views as the city prepares to move from Level 4 to 3 of the coronavirus covid 19 lockdown. Photo / Alex Burton
This means 78 per cent of all confirmed and probable cases are now recovered.
Seven people remain in hospital, unchanged from yesterday. This total includes one person in the ICU in Middlemore.
There are still 16 significant clusters, and again this is no change from yesterday.
There were 5,966 tests completed yesterday, taking the combined total to date of 120,981.
Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield said today that although it was encouraging to have another day of single digit cases, vigilance remains crucial.
"As we prepare to move to alert level 3 on Tuesday morning, it's really important not to slacken off the effort," he said in a statement just before 1pm today.
"Even though all these new cases are linked to existing community-based cases or clusters, or are a result of overseas travel, nine cases highlights the need for everybody to maintain a high level of vigilance in level 4 and as we move to level 3."
It is just a day and a half until New Zealand drops to alert level 3, allowing slightly more freedom of movement, more people to return to work and takeaway franchises like KFC and McDonald's to open.
