The Ministry of Health's Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield and Secretary of Education Iona Holsted are providing an update on the Covid-19 coronavirus.
This afternoon, Ashley has confirmed there are now 20 confirmed cases, eight new ones since yesterday.
He says there are four new cases in Auckland, one in Christchurch, two in Waikato and one in Invercargill.
Details for each of these cases, including flight numbers, will be revealed on the Ministry of Health website "in the near future".
"We expected more cases and it's most important that we identify, that we test and isolate cases and close contacts to ensure that we prevent further community spread."
He says the new cases have been in self isolation and aware of the symptoms. He commends them for doing the right thing.
A teenager who is a student at Logan Park High School was confirmed as New Zealand's 12th case of COVID-19 on Tuesday afternoon.
The teenager is a family member of the Dunedin man in his 40's returned from Germany who was also announced as a positive case on Tuesday.
About 150 students at Logan Park school which was initially closed for 48 hours last night will be tested over the next 24 hours.Test results for these close contacts will not be available until Friday, and the school will stay closed until further notice.
Ashley says police had conducted some compliance checks on travellers who have arrived since the self isolation policy came into effect.
He says they had made contact with 41 individuals yesterday and they were following up with three more today.
The influenza vaccination program will begin early this year, with a 30 per cent increase in tests, says Ashley.
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