A man who works on ships in Taranaki and Auckland is the latest community case of Covid-19.

In a rare Sunday press conference, Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield says there was little risk the disease has spread from this new community case and that the source was likely to have come through the border.

Dr Ashley Bloomfield says the man was tested a few hours after developing Covid-19 symptoms on October 16.

He had recently worked on ships docked at Ports of Auckland and Ports of Taranaki, but was not at Ports of Auckland while he was infectious, the two days before he developed symptoms.

The man's close contacts are all in managed isolation or quarantine.

He had a negative test result during routine testing of port staff on October 2.

Bloomfield said the case showed how well New Zealand's processes were working, but "the case is another reminder that Covid-19 is not going away anytime soon".

He added the risk of community transmission was 'lowish”.

The man drove from New Plymouth to Auckland on Wednesday and spent the day at home on Thursday.

The ship he worked on had recently been to Auckland, Taranaki and Lyttleton.

He went to work on Friday before going to get a test after feeling unwell.

Two new cases in managed isolation were also announced on Sunday.

One person tested positive on day 12 after arriving from England via Dubai on October 5.

The other person had a positive result on day three of their stay in managed isolation. They arrived from the United Arab Emirate on October 13.

A historical case in Wellington announced by the ministry on Friday has also been reported. That person has recovered.

Another case in managed isolation that had been reported on Saturday was now considered 'under investigation”, Bloomfield said.

In total, 1530 confirmed cases of coronavirus had been found in New Zealand, 42 of which were active as at Sunday.