Covid 19 coronavirus: Hawke's Bay records three new cases, total now 19

An empty Marine Pde during the lockdown. Photo / Paul Taylor

Hawke's Bay has three new cases of Covid-19, bringing the total in the region to 19.

The nationwide total is now 797.

Two of the new confirmed cases were a man and woman in their 60s who flew in from Australia on 23 March on flight NZ104.

They were sat in seats 40A and 40B.

Medical Officer of Health Nick Jones said the other confirmed case is a household contact of a previously reported case, a woman in her 30s.

At the coronavirus update on Thursday, Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield said there were a total of 89 new cases - 76 new confirmed cases and 13 new probable cases.

A total of 92 people have also recovered, he said, while 13 people are in hospital, with two in intensive care.

Fifty-one per cent of cases have links to overseas travel, while 1 per cent are community transmission - but Bloomfield said he expects that number to rise.

Seventeen per cent of cases are still being investigated.

There were 2563 tests yesterday – that makes a total of 26,000 tests so far.

Jones said close contacts of the three new cases have been directly followed up by public health and provided with advice and information.

"The priority for our teams is to find and track down anyone that may have symptoms of Covid-19," he said.

"The Government has updated the case definition to include anyone with symptoms of Covid-19 without the requirement for overseas travel."

Covid-19 symptoms include a cough, high temperature, runny nose, sneezing or shortness of breath.

Medical Officer of Health Rachel Eyre said on Wednesday public health's focus remained on contact tracing to identify anyone who may have come into contact with passengers or crew from the Ruby Princess cruise ship, which docked in Napier on March 15.

"Anyone who believes they were in close contact with Ruby Princess passenger or crew and has developed Covid-19 symptoms in the past fortnight is strongly advised to contact their GP so they could be assessed for referral to a Community-Based Assessment Centre (CBAC) for testing," Eyre said.

• Covid19.govt.nz: The Government's official Covid-19 advisory website

She reminded people that they needed an appointment at a CBAC before they could be assessed.

People are also able to call Healthline's free 24/7 dedicated Covid-19 number on 0800 358 5453 for advice. Interpreters are available on request.

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