Director of Public Health Dr Caroline McElnay says there are no new cases of Covid-19 to report today and nobody in hospital.

There were 12 additional cases yesterday.

Dr McElnay provided a COVID-19 health update at 1pm today.

Dr McElnay said at the media briefing yesterday that ten of the cases arrived in the country from India on September 26 on Flight AI1354.

The 11th case arrived from the US on September 26 and tested positive on day three, the other person came to New Zealand from the Philippines via Taiwan.

All cases were already in managed isolation and have since been transferred to a dedicated quarantine facility.

No new community cases were announced yesterday.

The high number of cases yesterday has led to calls for tougher restrictions for arrivals from countries considered high-risk.

Those travellers should go into quarantine for a week before they fly to New Zealand and should be tested before they board their flight, epidemiologist Michael Baker told Morning Report today.

If their pre-flight test was positive, they would need to delay their departure to New Zealand by a month while they cleared the virus, Professor Baker said.

It would be an alternative to closing the borders to certain countries. All travellers would still undergo the two weeks in isolation and two Covid-19 tests on their arrival.

Dr McElnay urges people to stay vigilant during the school holidays, particularly those travelling around New Zealand.