Figures released today showed confirmed cases had risen to 303, up 45 from yesterday, with 219 active cases reported in the past seven days.
The greatest number of infected people came from Wellington, with 118 affected, followed by Auckland with 91 cases. Canterbury had reported 67 cases and the Bay of Plenty Lakes region, 13.
However, ministry officials have said the actual number of people infected was likely to be ''in the thousands'' as doctors had stopped testing every patient.
An infected 30-year-old woman, with pre-existing illnesses, remained in critical condition at Wellington Hospital.
More cases were expected as the pandemic continued over the coming months and the virus was expected to cause many more infections than ordinary flu because most people had little or no immunity to it.
However, there was no need for alarm, the ministry said.
Most of those who had contracted the virus were experiencing relatively mild to moderate symptoms, and most recovered from it without the need for medical care.
Health authorities were well-prepared should the outbreak became more severe, and they were preparing to manage the virus in the community, the ministry said.
Meanwhile, Auckland and the Bay of Plenty and Lakes region today followed the lead of Wellington and Christchurch and began focusing on managing swine flu cases rather than trying to contain the virus.
In Christchurch last night, the flu centre extended its opening time by six hours a day to cope with the number of people referred to it with flu symptoms.
Swine flu emergency operations centre incident controller Cathy Taylor said people with any flu virus, particularly swine flu, who were staying away from work or school should also not go to the supermarket, visit friends, or attend any sporting or community events.
''Anyone who thinks they may have influenza should stay home, keep warm and ensure they drink plenty of fluids,'' Ms Taylor said.
''Stay home doesn't just mean stay home from work or school, it means stay home from any place or activity where others are around.''
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