Coronavirus: No new cases of COVID-19 in New Zealand

There are no new cases of COVID-19 in New Zealand, Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield announced on Wednesday.

It marks the second consecutive day of zero cases for the country, following two days of no new cases on May 4 and May 5 last week respectively.

New Zealand's overall total of confirmed and probable cases remains at 1497, 1147 of which are confirmed.

There are no additional deaths, the country's virus-related death toll remaining at 21.

Ninety-four percent of all cases are now recovered, or 1402 people.

Two people remain in hospital although neither are in the ICU.

Sixteen significant clusters also remain and four are considered closed.

On Tuesday, 5961 tests were processed, bringing the overall number of tests processed nationwide to 203,045 - a "significant achievement", Dr Bloomfield said. 

"This milestone is a significant achievement. I want to recognise everyone who has been tested and everyone across the system who has facilitated that happening." 

Dr Bloomfield says the anticipation ahead of level 2 is "palpable" and "understandable". Alert level 2 will be officially implemented as of 11:59pm on Wednesday night.

"But it is vital to keep physical distancing in public, including on transport. If you are sick, don't leave home. If you have symptoms, ring your GP," he reiterated, also asking New Zealanders to keep track of their movements to help with contact tracing.

However, he said Wednesday's figures confirm "we are on the right path".

"We are maintaining the gains made in alert levels 4 and 3 and we're heading for success - but as you would have seen overnight from other jurisdictions, this is a stubborn virus and we don't want to be going down the path where we see spikes again. 

"We can't afford to give away the progress we've made. We need to remain vigilant."

When addressing the restrictions on social gatherings under level 2 - which caps group events, parties, religious services, weddings and funerals at 10 attendees - Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern noted that we are "moving at pace", with the chance we'll have fewer restrictions in the near future.

"Overnight, there has been ongoing reporting of second waves [worldwide]... that is a warning shot to us that we do need to be really careful. No one wants to go backwards, but we are seeing other countries - that have had significant precautions - that have [gone backwards]. We do want to ensure we keep moving, but do so carefully," she said. 

Ardern also noted that restrictions surrounding funerals and tangis are the "hardest parts" of the alert level framework.

She said calls were made on Wednesday morning between church leaders, funeral directors and iwi leaders to find an initiative that satisfies health concerns, while recognising that funerals and tangis are "life events that cannot be postponed".

"I believe we're well on our way to finding a solution that will meet both of these concerns," she said.

"Of course there will still be restrictions, but we are working hard to see if we can find ways to accommodate some of the concerns that are being raised - within the capacity of the Ministry of Health to help give the reassurance that some of these issues can be managed."

When asked by a reporter if police would be actively breaking up funerals of more than 10 grieving family members, Ardern reiterated that while no one wants to see that happen, the guidelines are in place to protect people.

"No one wants to see that... police have indicated that their focus has always been on education first. They move through a four-step process - talking about what the expectations are, moving through warnings and then further down is the harsher end of enforcement.

"No one wants to see that, but these guidelines are in place ultimately because we want to protect people and make sure no one experiences harm in their own family or community... although it's not for me to dictate what the police choose to do."

Comparatively, in Australia the current restrictions allow 20 mourners to attend an indoor funeral and a maximum of 30 for an outdoor funeral. When asked if these numbers are more appropriate, Dr Bloomfield said Australia's response was taken into account when formulating New Zealand's protocol.

"We've certainly looked at the Australian advice already... I think it's just a different limit. The key thing here is it's also still very conservative - Australia, like us, recognises it's the gathering of people at events like that [which] creates the highest risk of transmission," he said.