Just three additional cases have been found in Auckland since a marine worker returned a positive test on October 17.

The group of infected Kiwis includes the index case, a man in his 20s, two of his workplace colleagues and one of their close family members.

With just four cases, the latest spread doesn't even qualify as a cluster, which requires 10 people.

On Tuesday, director general of health Ashley Bloomfield said it was too early to say "It's a banana skin dodged".

"We're not yet at the point where we can be fully confident. There are still a number of close contacts in isolation and they will be tested again at day 12," he said in Wellington.

"What is encouraging is we haven't seen any additional cases from the venues that those people visited, for example the pub on the Friday night, a fitness class on the Saturday.

"We got a case. We took appropriate measures and our response has led to the outcome we were looking for. We quickly got around those cases and prevented any onward community spread."

New Zealand continues to record cases within its border regime, including more than 30 foreign fishers in the past week.

The infected workers are part of a 440-strong cohort of crew to land in Christchurch from Russia, according to local reports, granted border exemptions to help support the struggling deep sea fishing industry.

Dr Bloomfield also announced a milestone in New Zealand's fight against coronavirus: 100 million uses of the government's COVID Tracer app, which assists health authorities with contact tracing.

Australian Associated Press