187 new cases of Covid in Hawke's Bay

A rapid antigen test. Photo / NZME

Hawke's Bay recorded 187 new cases of Covid-19 on Sunday.

It is one of the lowest daily totals since cases began to spike in early March across Hawke's Bay.

It is only the third time daily case numbers have dropped below 200 since March 1, and followed 253 new cases reported across the region on Saturday.

Meanwhile, there are eight people in hospital in Hawke's Bay battling the virus.

Nationwide, there were 5662 new community cases announced on Sunday, and nine further deaths, none of which were in Hawke's Bay.

It comes as the Ministry of Health revealed the first known detection this weekend of the Omicron XE variant in the country.

"XE has been spreading overseas and its arrival in New Zealand is not unexpected," the statement read.

"At this stage, the public health settings already in place to manage other Omicron variants are assessed to be appropriate for managing XE and no changes are required."

Daily Covid cases in Hawke's Bay:
Apr 24: 187
Apr 23: 253
Apr 22: 316
Apr 21: 362
Apr 20: 365
Apr 19: 282
Apr 18: 187
Apr 17: 184
Apr 15/16: 460
Apr 14: 357
Apr 13: 355
Apr 12: 474
Apr 11: 284
Apr 10: 268
Apr 9: 356
Apr 8: 434
Apr 7: 480
Apr 6: 602
Apr 5: 693
Apr 4: 454
Apr 3: 420
Apr 2: 590
Apr 1: 712
Mar 31: 917
Mar 30: 892
Mar 29: 1015
Mar 28: 701
Mar 27: 541
Mar 26: 770
Mar 25: 873
Mar 24: 1055
Mar 23: 1064
Mar 22: 1243
Mar 21: 796
Mar 20: 676
Mar 19: 1108
Mar 18: 841
Mar 17: 1101
Mar 16: 1049
Mar 15: 1111
Mar 14: 680
Mar 13: 597
Mar 12: 730
Mar 11: 855
Mar 10: 700
Mar 9: 707
Mar 8: 707
Mar 7: 435
Mar 6: 336
Mar 5: 327
Mar 4: 325
Mar 3: 315
Mar 2: 273
Mar 1: 168
Feb 28: 138
Feb 27: 136
Feb 25: 94
Feb 24: 60
Feb 23: 18
Feb 22: 25
Feb 21: 23
Feb 20: 24
Feb 19: 22
Feb 18: 17
Feb 17: 2
Feb 16: 15
Feb 15: 1
Feb 14: 5
Feb 13: 8
Feb 12: 7
Feb 11: 0
Feb 10: 0