The Government is considering mandatory QR scanning in "high-risk" locations such as bars and restaurants, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says.
There are no new Covid-19 cases in the community despite the Government remaining cautious after an Australian man visited Wellington last weekend while contagious.
There are 10 cases in managed isolation facilities since the Ministry's last update yesterday.
The number of active cases in New Zealand is 28 after one previously reported case has now recovered.
A positive case of Covid-19 has been detected in the Newmont's Granite gold mine 350km north-west of Alice Springs in Australia's Northern Territory. Health officials have been advised of two contacts who have travelled to New Zealand.
Both contacts are in isolation and are being tested according to the type of contact they had with the case at the mine, the ministry said. One has returned a negative test result already, and the result for the other individual is expected tomorrow.
"New Zealand health officials remain in contact with our Australian counterparts and are closely monitoring the situation," the ministry said.
Travel bubble announcement expected
With the Government due to make a call on resuming the transtasman travel bubble, hopes are now pinned on the run of no new community cases continuing.
This morning the Prime Minister gave a strong indication the Government would go ahead with resuming the transtasman travel bubble with all states with the exception of New South Wales, where community Covid cases have continued to surge over recent days.
Victoria today reported no new cases in the community while Queensland reported two, including a miner who was a close contact of an infected Northern Territory worker and had travelled back home not knowing they had contracted the virus. NSW recorded 18 new cases of community transmission.
Cabinet is meeting today to see if the transtasman travel bubble pause, which is due to expire at midnight tomorrow, will be recommenced.
That decision will be reviewed tomorrow, the ministry said.
There are now multiple cases and outbreaks in Australia in differing stages of containment and the health risk for New Zealand in response to these cases is increasing, the ministry said.
Anyone who was in Australia from June 21 and is now in New Zealand should be checking the growing number of locations of interest.
People waiting in line to be tested for Covid-19 at Hataitai Park in Wellington. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Yesterday there were 754 tests processed in the Greater Wellington region and there is still capacity at pop-up sites, community testing centres, and at GPs and medical centres this afternoon and tomorrow.
Anyone with cold or flu-like symptoms is encouraged to be tested.
Covid-infected Australian tourist
In the meantime, all eyes are on test results from the close contacts of a Covid-infected Australian tourist who travelled to Wellington for a weekend break.
He was considered infectious while in the capital, testing positive a day after returning home to Sydney. His partner, who travelled to New Zealand with him, tested positive for Covid at the weekend.
Some 2,273 of the 2,597 people identified as potential contacts to the Australian man have returned a negative result.
The remainder are either being followed up or are awaiting a test result and eight have been excluded from testing.
Thirty-seven passengers had returned a negative result, and the remainder were expected to have results in the next couple of days.
The Health Ministry continued to urge people who had been at any of the locations of interest across Wellington to immediately isolate at their home and seek advice about testing.
It reminded people there was a health order in place that legally required people at exposure sites to following instructions regarding isolation and testing.
Wellington remains on alert level 2 until 11.59pm on Tuesday.
Yesterday there were no new cases in the community and just one case in managed isolation.
