The 50th person to die with Covid-19 in Hawke's Bay was confirmed by the Ministry of Health on Thursday. Photo / NZME
The 50th person to die with Covid-19 in Hawke's Bay was confirmed by the Ministry of Health on Thursday. Photo / NZME
The 50th death related to Covid-19 in Hawke's Bay has been confirmed by the Ministry of Health on Thursday.
The region saw its first confirmed Covid-related death only a few months earlier, on March 17 of this year.
The Ministry of Health announced 23 deaths nationwide on Thursday.
Of these deaths, one was less than 10 years old, five were in their 70s, nine were in their 80s and eight were aged over 90.
Four were from the Auckland region, one was from Waikato, one was from Bay of Plenty, one was from Lakes, one was from Taranaki, one was from Hawkes Bay, two were from MidCentral, one was from the Wellington region, two were from Nelson/Marlborough, seven were from Canterbury, one was from South Canterbury and one was from the Southern region.
Of these people, 11 were females and 12 were males.
"This is a very sad time for whānau and friends and our thoughts and condolences are with them. Out of respect, we will be making no further comment on Thursday's reported deaths," the Ministry of Health statement said.
The Ministry of Health announced on Thursday that there were 524 new cases of Covid-19 in Hawke's Bay over the last 24 hours, and 27 people hospitalised with Covid-19 in the region.
There are 3144 active cases in Hawke's Bay and 70,847 active cases nationwide.
The Ministry of Health announced 11,382 community cases and 765 current hospitalisations on Thursday.
The seven-day rolling average of community case numbers on Thursday was 9,826.
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Covid-19 Minister Ayesha Verrall said NZ would remain at the orange traffic light setting at a press conference on Thursday, saying the government had determined a move to the red setting would only offer "an incremental benefit", despite steadily increasing case numbers throughout the second half of June and July so far.
Verrall said masks and RATs tests will now be made available for free, and anti-viral drugs will be offered to an estimated 400,000 people at collection points.
Anti-viral drugs, like Paxlovid, could keep people from being hospitalised.
People would no longer have to meet the criteria of having Covid symptoms or being a household contact or a critical worker.
Director General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield said national cases were expected to peak at 21,000 cases a day and hospitalisations were expected to peak at more than 1000.
"People should stay home if they are unwell, take a rapid antigen test (RAT) and upload the result on MyCovidRecord, and isolate if positive or while still symptomatic," a Ministry statement read.
"It is important to ensure you are up to date with all vaccinations, including COVID-19 vaccinations. Many are now eligible for a second booster dose, and flu vaccinations, which are free for many people."
