UPDATE: Two new cases of COVID-19 are being reported in managed isolation today.

Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield says both cases are at the Sudima Hotel in Rotorua.

He says the first case is a man in his 60s who arrived into the country from Pakistan, via Dubai on Juyl 10.

"He tested positive on day three of the testing regime.

"The second case is a woman in her 50s who arrived in New Zealand via Dubai on July 10.

"She also tested positive on day three."

With the new cases being reported, there are now 27 active cases of COVID-19 in managed isolation.

Ashley says it has now been 75 days since the case of the virus was aquired locally from an unknown source.

The total number of cases now sits at 1197. This is the number reported to the WHO each day.

Yesterday, laboratories carried out 2061 tests, 902 were those in isolation.

To date, 433,324 tests have been carried out in New Zealand.

Updated testing guidance

Yesterday, the Ministry of Health issued updated guidance for clinicians on testing for COVID-19.

The updated advice clarifies for health professionals which lower-risk symptomatic people should be tested in the community.

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 Maori and Pasifika communities.

"It is important that New Zealanders do not become complacent about the threat of COVID-19 – we need to continue testing in our community to ensure we are detecting any cases of the virus that might have slipped through the border," says Ashley.

"The updated advice also includes a reminder that throat swabbing is an acceptable option for testing for COVID-19 in these groups.

"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.

"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."

Anyone with respiratory or other symptoms of COVID-19 should ring Healthline or their GP to get advice on whether they should be tested. Testing remains free.

NZ COVID Tracer

NZ COVID Tracer has now recorded 596,000 registrations.

The number of posters created is 77,928.

The number of poster scans to date is 1,428,943.

"We continue to encourage everyone to download and register with the app, and keep a record of their movements," says the Ministry.

EARLIER:

Minister of Health Chris Hipkins and Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield will provide an update to the media on the latest situation of COVID-19 in New Zealand.

SunLive will be providing updates throughout the afternoon for those who are not able to rune into the livestream.

Here are the numbers as they stand:

There was one new case of COVID-19 to report in managed isolation in New Zealand on Tuesday.

It has been 74 days since the last case of COVID-19 was acquired locally from an unknown source.

The total number of active cases in New Zealand remains at 25.

There is no one in New Zealand receiving hospital-level care for COVID-19.

On Monday, laboratories completed 1620 tests, which brings the total number of tests completed to date to 431,263.