Chris Hipkins and Ashley Bloomfield give live COVID-19 update.

There are no new cases of COVID-19 in the community and no cases in managed isolation to report today.

"We are formally recording the sad death of a patient with COVID-19 at North Shore Hospital, which was first announced on Saturday 13 February," Director General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield said.

"This death has now been included in our official COVID-19 related deaths. A total of 26 people have now died with COVID-19 in New Zealand.

We continue to offer our deepest sympathy to all those affected by COVID-19," Dr Bloomfield said. 

One previously reported case has now recovered. The total number of active cases in New Zealand is 46. Our total number of confirmed cases is 1,981.

Update on Auckland February cases
The three positive cases remain in quarantine at an Auckland facility. Their household contact is in isolation at home under strict public health protocols and supervision.

However, the "intensive" investigation around the potential source of transmission for all three cases continues. "We have a number of scenarios we are pursuing."

Testing
There has been a surge in demand for testing. So far, all results are negative.

"We would like to acknowledge the hardworking staff at our testing centres, general practices and other clinics who continue to swab for COVID-19. We also thank everyone who patiently waited for their COVID-19 tests yesterday.

"We are anticipating strong demand again today," the Ministry of Health said.

"It’s important the right people can get access to testing — so please don’t rush to a centre if you are well, or if you weren’t at one of the current locations of interest."

Information on where to get a test is available at Healthpoint.co.nz. Healthpoint has all the testing locations and hours supplied by DHBs – it includes more than 1,100 testing sites nationwide, including most GPs.

On Monday, 5,818 tests were processed. The seven-day rolling average up to yesterday is 4,380 tests processed.

The total number of tests processed by laboratories to date is 1,595,770.

Contact Tracing
Contact tracing has now identified 109 close contacts outside the household.

Of these, 33 have returned a negative test and 74 results are pending.

The increase in the number of close contacts is because of a very precautionary approach to people classified as close contacts at one of the locations of interest. All contacts from this location have been identified and there is no public health risk.

More than 2,000 contacts have now been identified as casual plus and loaded into the national close contact tracing system. These include people who attended workplaces of Case B and C, Papatoetoe High School, and other locations of interest.

Health Services remain open
New Zealand’s hospitals, pharmacies, GPs, and urgent care clinics remain open to provide care to patients. We urge anyone needing medical care not to put it off.

All health services are regarded as essential and will continue as usual with an additional focus on infection prevention control measures and physical distancing of patients.

If you are unwell with the symptoms of COVID-19 please call your contact at the hospital or clinic before coming to an appointment. They will tell you what to do.

Historical cases
Since January 1, there have now been 29 historical cases, out of a total of 171 cases.

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