As whānau get away and relax for the long weekend, the Health Ministry is reminding people to have a plan if they contract Covid-19 or are a household contact of a case.
The ministry's reminder comes as it reports 6,291 new community cases and 11 more deaths today.
"You would need to self-isolate and likely remain wherever you test positive or become a household contact, so there may be extra costs involved in paying for additional accommodation and changing your travel plans," the ministry said in their Saturday update.
"If you have used your own vehicle to travel, you can travel back to your home to isolate, taking public health measures to ensure you don’t infect anyone on your way home – such as maintaining social distance and using self-service petrol stations.
"However, if you have used public transport or travelled between islands, you won’t be able to isolate at your home. So it is important you have a plan and the ability to isolate where you are holidaying, if you need to do so."
Today's new Covid cases mean there are now 47,866 active community cases of the virus across Aotearoa.
Four people in their 70s are among the 11 deaths the ministry is reporting, as well as three people in their 80s and four aged over 90.
Eight were women and three were men who were from the Auckland, Waikato, Nelson-Marlborough, Canterbury and Southern DHB regions.
There have now been 1,221 Covid-related deaths in Aotearoa since the pandemic began.
369 people are currently in hospital with the virus, including eight in intensive care. Their average age is 62.
Outside of Auckland, the majority are in hospital in Canterbury (57), Southern (29), Waikato (26) and Capital and Coast (24) DHB regions.
