Hawke's Bay to move to alert level 3, sets new vaccination record

A nurse gives an injection at Te Taiwhenua o Heretaunga in Hastings. Photo / Warren Buckland

A new vaccination record has been set in Hawke's Bay with more than 20,000 people jabbed in one week.

It comes as Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced on Monday afternoon that Hawke's Bay, along with the rest of the country, except for Auckland and Northland, would be bumped down to alert level 3 from this Wednesday.

A total of 20,848 people received either their first or second dose of the Covid-19 vaccine in Hawke's Bay last week - a record for a single week - bringing the total number of jabs issued to 123,021 for the region.

That equates to 55 percent or the population receiving their first jab and 30 per cent being fully vaccinated.

The New Zealand Government revealed on Monday there had been 53 new cases of Covid-19 reported in the community - all of which were in Auckland.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern (right) and director general of health Dr Ashley Bloomfield.

It was the lowest number of fresh daily cases in five days.

"Level 3 for the country south of Auckland will remain in place for a week," Prime Minister Ardern said, in bumping down the alert level.

That level will be reviewed on Monday, September 6.

"Our hope will of course be that we can keep lowering restrictions when it is safe to do so," she said.

"Please remember level 3 does not mean freedom. It means caution. It means staying in your bubble. It means distance. It means contactless transactions."

The overall number of cases since the Delta strain arrived in New Zealand is 562 - including 547 cases in Auckland and 15 in Wellington.

There has been no spread of the virus reported in Hawke's Bay.

Anne Baxter, a registered nurse vaccinator at the HBDHB, gives Ina John the Covid vaccination.

However, as at Monday morning, 91 people deemed as a contact of a Covid case were isolating in the Hawke's Bay DHB region, with 88 of them having returned a negative result.

Meanwhile, a maritime union which represents workers at Napier Port says it supports a move by the Government to make Covid vaccinations mandatory for specific port workers.

It was announced last month, under the COVID-19 Public Health Response (Vaccinations) Amendments Order 2021, that jabs for port workers on or around ships had become mandatory.

Privately employed border workers must have had their first dose by September 30 under the order.

Maritime Union of NZ National Secretary Craig Harrison said about 78 per cent of port workers nationwide had been vaccinated.

Napier Port.

He said the order related to those who worked on or near international ships, which he guessed was fewer than 50 per cent of all workers at Napier Port.

"The public health order has been made, and as good health and safety practice, both employers and workers must abide by it," he said.

A Napier Port spokeswoman said all their relevant workers had been vaccinated.

"All of our employees who are required to be vaccinated under the order are. We support vaccinations and ultimately follow any MoH and border directive.

"We had good uptake because we encouraged people to get vaccinated at work by giving time off to do it, put support in place for anyone who may have felt unwell following vaccination, set up face to face information sessions and a fit-for-purpose venue on port to make it as easy as possible."