The WHO announced that both China and South Korea had now joined the COVAX, the goal being to promote equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines globally.
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There are no new community cases of Covid-19 to report today and just one in managed isolation.
The Ministry of Health says the number of daily Covid Tracer scans has doubled since last Wednesday and is calling the testing levels over the long weekend "pleasing".
The case in managed isolation was under investigation yesterday and has now been classified as a confirmed case - but the person has already recovered.
Three other people have also recovered, meaning the number of active cases in New Zealand is 70.
The Ministry of Health says all day-six testing of the international fishing crew at a border hotel in Christchurch has also concluded and there are no new cases to report.
New Zealand's total number of confirmed cases is 1579.
Testing
There were 5396 tests processed yesterday, and the Health Ministry said this was a "strong weekend figure".
"Testing has also been pleasing in the Auckland area, with metropolitan DHBs reporting steady demand at the region's seven community testing centres, where 633 people were swabbed yesterday."
There are seven community testing centres open during the long weekend at:
• Northcote Community Testing Centre. • Northcare Accident and Medical, Whānau House in Henderson. • Western Springs Community Testing Centre. • The Whānau Ora Community Clinic in Wiri. • The Otara Community Testing Centre. • The North Harbour stadium carpark in Albany.
Testing is also available across metropolitan Auckland at a number of urgent-care clinics and general practices during the long weekend.
All tests are free of charge.
The Health Ministry says anyone can call Healthline 24/7 for advice and information about testing locations. The dedicated Covid number is 0800 358 5453.
"We'd also like to extend our thanks to primary care teams testing today, the laboratory staff, public health teams, hospital staff and the other health professionals who are working during this long weekend to support our pandemic response."
Covid Tracer
The Health Ministry says the number of poster scans has almost doubled compared to the number reported last Wednesday and that is "encouraging".
"The more we scan, the safer we'll be. The faster we respond, the faster we stop it."
If you can't or don't want to use the app, the ministry is encouraging people to use the written sign-in that businesses should have available. For your own records you should also use another method that works for you, like the NZ Covid Tracer booklet, which can be downloaded from the ministry's website.
