There are eight new cases of covid-19 in New Zealand, Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield says. The total number of cases is now 28. The new cases today all relate to overseas travel.
An South Auckland student has been tested for Covid-19.
The student was new to Pukekohe Intermediate School and was "present with symptoms" of the virus, parents were told.
"This student was tested today, and we are awaiting the results. We will provide you with more information as this comes tohand," an online post said.
"This situation continues to change, and we want to be sure we continue to be transparent in our communication and keep you updated on recent developments."
The school has been in contact with the Ministry of Health and is following its recommendations.
Parents were urged to reassure and education their children on the Covid-19 outbreak and make use of the Ministry of Health website.
Families should also focus on prevention efforts to prevent the spread of the virus, with hygiene measures including through hand washing, covering coughs and sneezes and greeting people using the "back of an arm".
People living in the same house as travellers self-isolating should take the necessary precautions and parents were advised to use the term "physical distancing" rather than "social distancing".
Bloomfield said he didn't have a timeframe for when New Zealand will experience community spread.
"We are watching very closely as to whether we have any community spread. We also want to act before we see any evidence of widespread community outbreak.
"We've seen a big increase in the number of tests being done, only a few of those cases are testing positive, but it does give us a good idea of whether there's wider community transmission. We're testing people with wider influenza symptoms and it's not at this point been Covid-19.
"There's a lot of work going on to confirm our labs have everything they need to conduct the tests, get the results out quickly, identify the positive results and contact trace."
