New Zealand

Cook Islands Prime Minister Henry Puna told Newshub earlier this month that without any cases of the disease, the Cook Islands poses no threat to New Zealand - and vice versa. Samoa, Kiribati, Nauru, the Solomon Islands, Tonga, Vanuatu and Tuvalu also haven't reported any cases.

New Zealand's last confirmed case was more than three weeks ago, and it's been four weeks since the last patient known to be infected via community transmission left self-isolation.

Over the past three weeks, people across the US have already protesting over the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man in police custody. Since then, the Black Lives Matter movement has come to life again throughout many countries, with protesters taking to the streets, demanding an end to police brutality and racism.

In Dunedin, hundreds of people gathered at the Otago Museum reserve to show solidarity with the movement. They marched down George Street to the Octagon, where a rally was held.

The New Zealand Government said an action plan launched today shows its commitment to improve the health and wellbeing of Pacifika in this country.

Associate Health Minister, Jenny Salesa, said "Ola Manuia - the Pacific Health and Wellbeing Action Plan for 2020-2025 - is about driving more effective and equitable health outcomes."

She said Pacific peoples are consistently over-represented across all the vulnerability indicators for health and wellbeing.

In a statement, the Ministry confirmed another significant cluster had also been closed, bringing the total number of significant clusters closed to 10 out of 16.

A significant cluster is 10 or more cases connected through transmission who are not all part of the same household, and is considered closed when there are no new connected cases for 28 days after the last case is no longer isolated.

The last day that New Zealand reported an active case of Covid-19 was on 22 May.

Things will be just about back to normal for Kiwis after the move to level 1, with social distancing no longer required and no more limits on gatherings - but the border will remain closed to non-New Zealanders.

Hospitality providers will no longer have to ensure guests are seated and only served by one waiter, and night clubs will be able to fully open, with the Government hoping to control any potential future outbreaks with contact tracing.

They are seeking sightings of a dark coloured Mazda carrying the dead man's body before it stopped on Parkfield Tce and the man contacted emergency services.

Police said in a statement they have been speaking with occupants of the Mazda and they are assisting detectives with their investigation.

A resident of an inner-city Auckland flat came to the aid of a man who arrived in his street minutes before a body was found.

The Samoa Observer newspaper reported at least nine people had been allowed to quarantine at home.

One such person is historian Meleisea Malama Meleisea, who posted on Facebook that he was at home but had been visited by Police and Ministry of Health personnel. He said there were two security guards on duty around the clock, something he thought was "quite unnecessary".

Authorities said those who were allowed home had made their requests weeks ago and stringent isolation conditions had been placed on them.

They did not confirm how many were quarantining at home.

In a statement, the Ministry of Health said:

Our total number of confirmed cases remains at 1,154, which is the number we report to the World Health Organization.

Our combined total of confirmed and probable cases remains at 1,504.

The number of recovered cases is unchanged at 1,481. Only one case remains active.

There are no additional deaths to report.

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

The New Zealand competition kicks off on June 13 following the country’s recent move to alert Level 2, with games initially set to go ahead without fans, however, due to crowd limitations and restrictions still in place.

Earlier this week, the Government said they will evaluate moving the country into alert Level 1 on June 22, giving franchises hope of welcoming fans back to live games.

With the Crusaders not playing at home until round three – on June 28 – Mansbridge told NZME things look promising to have his side run out in front of their home supporters.

The insurance company's profit for the six months ended March was $14.9 million compared with $11.9m a year ago, as income rose 11 percent on the back of increased premiums, and the cost of claims stabilised. The result contains three months of business done by Youi, which Tower bought at the end of last year.

However, outgoing chief executive Richard Harding said the company was bracing for reduced investment income and slower growth because of the Covid-19 pandemic, which was prompting the company to cut costs and make greater use of digital platforms for customers.