No active cases in country

The last remaining active

Covid-19 case has recovered and New Zealand has marked

17 days without a new case. The recent recovery is a person in their 50s linked to the St Margaret’s Hospital and Rest Home cluster.

‘‘This is really good news for the person concerned, and it’s also something the rest of New Zealand can take heart from,’’ says director-general of health Dr Ashley Bloomfield.

‘‘Having no active cases for the first time since February

28 is certainly a significant mark in our journey but as we’ve previously said, ongoing vigilance against

Covid-19 will continue to be essential.’’

The recent recovery has been symptom-free for

48-hours and released from isolation. Originally listed as a probable case but tested negative, then, at a later date, tested positive when they became unwell. They were made a confirmed case on May 22 and had been in isolation since the beginning of lockdown.

Public health expert Professor Michael Baker from the University of Otago said the milestone was a sign the country was emerging from the pandemic, but there was still a chance of cases emerging in the future.

‘‘Tail end’’ cases and potentially unknown chains of transmission could still be cause for concern.

‘‘The active cases . . . should all be safely in isolation at home, and so they’re not [going to] be infecting anyone.’’

To date, there have been

1504 confirmed and probable cases across the country –

1482 of whom have recovered.

There is no-one currently receiving hospital-level care for the virus, and the death toll remains at 22.

Laboratories across the country have completed

294,848 tests.