COVID-19 Update from Ministry of Health website
COVID-19 (novel coronavirus)
This section provides the latest updates, information and advice on COVID-19.
Current situation
We have four new positive cases of COVID-19 of unknown origin. See the media release for more information.
As is our usual protocol we are tracing all close and casual contacts of these cases, and getting them tested for COVID-19.
All close contacts will remain in self-isolation for 14 days, and all casual contacts will remain in self isolation until they have returned a negative test.
As of midday tomorrow (Wednesday August 12) the Auckland region (Auckland Council area) will move to Alert Level 3 for 3 days until midnight on Friday 14 August. The rest of New Zealand will move to Alert Level 2. Find out more from the Unite Against COVID-19 website.
Further information will be available from Wednesday August 12.
There are 26 active cases of COVID-19 in New Zealand. New Zealand's confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 to date is 1574 – see our current cases page.
The focus is now on protecting New Zealanders with:
robust border controlscontinued surveillance and testingcontact tracing capability and rapid isolation of new casespublic support to prevent any further spread, like good hygiene and keeping records of movement.
See our elimination strategy for Aotearoa New Zealand.
For COVID-19 health advice and information, contact the Healthline team (for free) on 0800 358 5453 or +64 9 358 5453 for international SIMS.
NZ COVID Tracer app
The official Ministry of Health contact tracing app helps you keep a digital diary of the places you’ve been.
Keep Calm Be Kind
Some Choice News!
DOC is rolling out a new tool to help figure out what to tackle first when it comes to protecting our threatened species and the things putting them at risk.
Why does this matter? As Nikki Macdonald from The Post points out, we’re a country with around 4,400 threatened species. With limited time and funding, conservation has always meant making tough calls about what gets attention first.
For the first time, DOC has put real numbers around what it would take to do everything needed to properly safeguard our unique natural environment. The new BioInvest tool shows the scale of the challenge: 310,177 actions across 28,007 sites.
Now that we can see the full picture, it brings the big question into focus: how much do we, as Kiwis, truly value protecting nature — and what are we prepared to invest to make it happen?
We hope this brings a smile!
Poll: 🤖 What skills do you think give a CV the ultimate edge in a robot-filled workplace?
The Reserve Bank has shared some pretty blunt advice: there’s no such thing as a “safe” job anymore 🛟😑
Robots are stepping into repetitive roles in factories, plants and warehouses. AI is taking care of the admin tasks that once filled many mid-level office jobs.
We want to know: As the world evolves, what skills do you think give a CV the ultimate edge in a robot-filled workplace?
Want to read more? The Press has you covered!
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52.6% Human-centred experience and communication
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14.7% Critical thinking
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29.9% Resilience and adaptability
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2.7% Other - I will share below!
Share your favourite main crop potato recipe and win a copy of our mag!
Love potatoes? We will give away free copies of the May 2026 issue to readers whose potato recipes are used in our magazine. To be in the running, make sure you email your family's favourite way to enjoy potatoes: mailbox@nzgardener.co.nz, by March 1, 2026.
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