There are two new cases of coronavirus at New Zealand's managed isolation facilities, the Director-General of Health has announced.
The first case is a man in his 60s who arrived in New Zealand on July 10 from Pakistan via Dubai. He is staying at the Sudima Hotel in Rotorua, and tested positive around day 3 of his time in managed isolation.
The other is a woman in her 50s who arrived on July 10 from Dublin, via Dubai. She is also staying at the Sudima Hotel in Rotorua, and also tested positive around day 3 of her time in managed isolation.
With the addition of two new cases on Wednesday, there are now 27 active cases of COVID-19 in New Zealand, Dr Ashley Bloomfield said.
All of these cases are in managed isolation facilities, however, and it's now been 75 days since a case was acquired locally from an unknown source.
There remains no evidence of community transmission, and there is no one in a New Zealand hospital receiving treatment for COVID-19.
The total number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 now stands at 1197.
"Yesterday our laboratories completed 2061 tests. Of those, 902 were conducted in managed isolation or quarantine facilities around day 3 or day 12," Dr Bloomfield said.
"That brings the total number of tests completed to date to 433,324."
Speaking after Dr Bloomfield, Health Minister Chris Hipkins said the COVID-19 testing guidance provided to clinicians had now been updated.
"The updated advice clarifies for health professionals which lower-risk symptomatic people should be tested in the community," he said.
"The emphasis will be on people with respiratory symptoms who are at higher risk of complications if they contract COVID-19, including older people with respiratory symptoms, people with pre-existing conditions, and people in our Māori and Pasifika communities."
The updated advice also makes clear that throat swabbing is an acceptable option for testing for COVID-19.
"We know a nasopharyngeal swab can be unpleasant for some people. A throat swab can be less invasive and may mean people are less likely to refuse to have a test," a Ministry of Health statement said.
"People should still be offered a nasopharyngeal swab in the first instance, as the throat swab is slightly less sensitive and requires a higher load of the virus to be present to return a positive test."
