Jacinda Ardern is urging Kiwis to continue to follow the alert level rules as Monday's record low cases are the result of the alert level 4, and we are yet to see the impact of level 3.
During Monday's 4pm briefing the Prime Minister congratulated the social distancing efforts of New Zealanders which have resulted in no new cases but says there is still work to go yet.
"While we can take heart in recording no new cases today, the result reflects the situation that ultimately reflects the end of lockdown and alert level 4, not the effects of greater activity at alert level 3," Ardern says.
"So despite this result, my message remains the same as I note is the message of Dr Ashley Bloomfield, stay the course."
"We cannot afford to squander the good work to date when our end goal is so close and within reach."
She also announced new Google tracking data which came out over the weekend and reveals the movements of Kiwis during the last week of level 4.
"Overall it shows we did exceptionally well and that for the duration of lockdown we maintained very consistent levels of low amounts of movement," Ardern says.
"Trips to parks of places of recreation did experience an uptick in the last week and that is something we need to keep an eye on at level 3 in terms of when we are out and about, maintaining physical distancing."
She says New Zealand did much better than "other countries we compare ourselves to" and Kiwis need to maintain physical distancing to ensure it continues to work as New Zealand's COVID-19 response continues.
"Your efforts New Zealand have put us at the front of the pack and everyone should feel very proud of that."
New Zealand currently has 1487 confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 and 20 deaths.
As of Monday, 1276 people have recovered, which represents 86 percent of the overall case total.
On May 11 the Government will decide whether New Zealand will move to alert level 2 or continue for longer at level 3.
Ardern says it will depend on New Zealand's daily case numbers remaining low, or none, and Kiwis continuing to follow social distancing protocols.
