Covid 19 coronavirus: Health officials to unveil updated Covid-19 information

Director general of health Dr Ashley Bloomfield during his Covid-19 update with MIQ head Brigadier Jim Bliss at the Ministry of Health in Wellington. Photo / Mark Mitchell

There are no new community cases of Covid-19 and just one case in managed isolation, according to the Ministry of Health.

The new case is a contact of a previously reported case who is in quarantine; that means the seven-day rolling average of new cases detected at the border is four.

The Ministry also said that two previously reported cases had been reclassified.

"Both are now deemed historical and were reported in their respective countries of origin, so are not included in New Zealand's figures. This has created a net change in our total confirmed cases of -1 since our statement yesterday," the ministry said in a statement.

The total number of active cases in New Zealand today is 100 and the total number of confirmed cases is 2234.

The latest update comes amid a heightened focus on the vaccination rollout.

Yesterday, Bloomfield revealed the Government's budget for vaccines was $1 billion.

He also said that people will be able to walk in to a clinic and get the Pfizer vaccine jab from July, when the Government plans to be able to roll out an average of 280,000-odd doses a week for six months.

That would, he said, enable the Ministry of Health to reach its goal of vaccinating every eligible Kiwi who wants to be vaccinated.

Efforts will be made - including through mobile stations - to ensure people in rural and harder-to-access areas will have as much of a chance to get a jab as anyone.

So far, there have been 135,585 total doses of the Pfizer vaccine administered in New Zealand.

New research from Horizon Research shows that 69 per cent of respondents said they are likely to take the vaccine.

But one in five respondents said they were unlikely to take a vaccine if offered, and 9.4 per cent say they will "definitely not".

It comes as the Government comes under increasing pressure on its MIQ testing regime.

A security guard – whose firm was contracted by the Government to work at the Grand Millennium MIQ facility tested positive for Covid last week.

It was subsequently revealed that he had not yet received the vaccine.

As well as this, he had not received a Covid-19 test since November last year – National leader Judith Collins said this was "unfathomable".

But First Security – the company the guard worked for – said that the Government's testing register didn't raise any red flags until March 26.

This led to questions being raised about the efficiency of the system.

Speaking to media yesterday, Chris Hipkins offered somewhat half-hearted confidence in the Government's frontline testing register.

Although he has referred to it as a "good tool", he has doubled down on the fact the ultimate onus is on the employers of private frontline staff.

"I wouldn't say there was a failure to oversee testing."

He said case B – the security worker – had been sent "at least four text messages" telling him to get tested.