Coronavirus: NZ's sixth case confirmed

New Zealand has a sixth case of the coronavirus COVID-19, officials announced on Saturday afternoon.

The patient is a man who arrived here from the US on March 6. He was well last weekend, but became unwell during the week, Waitemata DHB chief executive Dr Dale Bramley said.

He was tested on Thursday, and on Friday was confirmed infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus which causes COVID-19.

"The man is currently doing very well and is at home recovering," said Dr Bramley. His wife is in self-isolation, and close contacts are being asked to go into isolation too.

He attended a church service at St Mary's Catholic Church in Papakura at 8:30am.

"We expect the vast majority of people who attended that service will be viewed as casual contacts," said Dr Bramley. He was not symptomatic at the time of the mass.

A "handful" will be considered close contacts, Dr Bramley said.

He said there is still no known spread of the virus in the community.

The national remembrance service due to be held in Christchurch to mark the first anniversary of the Christchurch terror attack has also been cancelled.

"The event, to be held at Horncastle Arena in Christchurch at 3pm tomorrow 15 March 2020, was expected to attract a large crowd, with many travelling from around New Zealand and from overseas," the Christchurch City Council said in a post on Facebook.

"New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says while we still have no community transmission of Covid-19 in New Zealand, we are taking a precautionary approach to protect the health of all New Zealanders."

It follows the cancellation of the Pasifika Festival and a number of other high-profile events in Auckland, such as concerts by rock bands My Chemical Romance and Deftones.

This is breaking news - more to come.