More than two thousand doses of the MMR vaccine were administered yesterday as measles cases rise around the country

The national tally now sits at 16 - one in Northland, five in Auckland, one in Taranaki, two in Manawatu, six in Wellington and one in Nelson.

Some of the cases are linked to Wellington Girls College and Auckland Grammar School.

But Associate Health Minister David Seymour says the government has made it clear students who are fully vaccinated for measles are safe to go to school without fear.