Coronavirus

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.

Dr Maria Van Kerkhove said last Monday it was "very rare" for asymptomatic people to pass the disease on.

But she has now stressed this observation was based on a relatively small set of studies.

Evidence suggests people with symptoms are most infectious, but the disease can be passed on before they develop.

Although a proportion of people test positive with no symptoms, it is not known how many of these people go on to infect others.

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.

This means that from Monday meetings of any size as well as all sports competitions are again allowed.

The wearing of masks on public transport can be discontinued and bars and restaurants no longer need to register patrons.

The president Thierry Santa said there was no local circulation of the virus and that all 21 cases were imported.

One person is still in hospital care.

The border remains closed except for flights from Wallis and Futuna which is the only French-run territory without any Covid-19 case.

In the US, the three main financial indexes saw their worst day in weeks, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down almost 7%.

The decline came a day after America's central bank said the US faces a long road to recovery.

They follow a weeks-long rally that had helped shares recover some ground from March lows.

Energy and travel stocks were among the biggest losers, as oil prices also took a hit.

Prince Joachim was issued with the penalty for failing to observe a 14-day quarantine period after arriving in the country.

The prince, 28, arrived in Spain for an internship on 24 May, but attended a gathering in the southern city of Córdoba two days later.

He has since apologised.

"I deeply regret my actions," the prince said in a statement after reports about the party emerged in Spanish media late last month. He added that he would "accept the consequences".

He has 15 days to pay the fine, in which case the amount will be reduced by half.

President Lionel Aingimea advised in this week's situational update that 169 people are currently in quarantine, including five at the Remand Centre.

The staff of service provider Canstruct, have opted to maintain Australia's recommended two weeks quarantine which is due to end this Friday.

However, they will still undergo lab testing on island.

In other air and sea movements, another passenger flight is due from Brisbane this Friday 12 June, and the normal freighter services will resume for Fridays and Saturdays.

President Lionel Aingimea confirmed the incident involving the nurses at the Meneñ Hotel quarantine residence during his weekly update.

The three nurses were part of a group of people who were repatriated from Fiji last Friday.

A day after arriving in quarantine, two nurses who were already on island visited three of their colleagues in quarantine.

They met at the back of the quarantine facility where it is single fenced and made contact through the fencing.

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.

This is the first time the airline has reconfigured its ATR aircraft for freight operations. The freighter service carried 3.8 tonnes of cargo from Nadi to Port Vila and 1.9 tonnes on the return sector on Sunday. Outbound freight included medical supplies, while the outbound carried a number of consolidated items, including coffee and mail.