WELLINGTON, June 8 (Xinhua) -- The Ministry of Health reported no active cases of COVID-19 in New Zealand for the first time on Monday, with the last person having recovered from the virus.

It is now 17 days since the last new case was reported in the country.

The ministry has been notified by the Auckland Regional Public Health that its remaining case has been symptom free for 48 hours and is regarded as recovered. The person has now been released from isolation, said a Ministry of Health statement.

Their case had been linked to the St Margaret's Hospital & Rest Home cluster in Auckland.

"This is really good news for the person concerned, and it's also something the rest of New Zealand can take heart from," Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield said in a statement.

"Having no active cases for the first time since Feb. 28 is certainly a significant mark in our journey but as we've previously said, ongoing vigilance against COVID-19 will continue to be essential," it said.

The combined number of confirmed and probable cases was 1,504, including 1,154 confirmed cases of COVID-19, which is the number reported to the World Health Organization.

The number of COVID-19 related deaths in New Zealand was 22. The number of recovered cases was 1,482.